Hirvonen wins Bettega Memorial Rallysprint

Mikko Hirvonen Hirvonen wins Bettega Memorial Rallysprint

Ford team leader Mikko Hirvonen has won the 2009 Bettega Memorial Rallysprint, which concluded on Tuesday afternoon at the Bologna Motor Show.

On his second participation in the Italian event, the Ford Focus RS WRC driver won both the Monday Night Sprint competition and Tuesday's Rallysprint, getting the better of Frenchman Sebastien Ogier in a Citroen C4 WRC on both occasions.

The Memorial Bettega Rallysprint is one of the most prestigious competitions run during the Bologna Motor Show and is named after the Italian driver Attilio Bettega, who was killed during the 1985 Tour de Corse. It is based on a 1km mixed surface track, using a head-to-head format similar to a World Rally Championship Super Special Stage. Heavy rain on Monday made conditions wet and slippery for most of the competition.

As always, the event attracted a star studded entry list, including former World Rally Champions Marcus Gronholm (Subaru Impreza WRC) and Petter Solberg (Citroen Xsara WRC), as well as nine-time Motorcycling World Champion Valentino Rossi (Ford Focus RS WRC).

Speaking exclusively to wrc.com after his victory, Hirvonen said the stage favoured an aggressive style of driving. "I've done the Rallysprint once before, six years ago, but since then the track, and everything else about this event, seems to have developed a lot," he said. "The circuit is really fast in places, and wide too, so there was no need to be scared about taking risks, or making the odd mistake. I really enjoyed myself, and of course it’s always good to compete against my ex team-mate Marcus."

Solberg and Gronholm finished both categories of the competition in third and fourth places respectively.

In 2008, WRC was covered by 188 countries via 228 broadcasters, with a total audience of over 633 million plus 12 million visitors to wrc.com. 2009 will see a total of 12 rallies staged across the world in Ireland, Norway, Cyprus, Portugal, Argentina, Italy, Greece, Poland, Finland, Australia, Spain and Great Britain. For more information please visit www.wrc.com.