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Flying Ford Focus Finishes First in Finland

Staff, Monday August 11, 2003.

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Ford BP Rallye Sport's Markko Märtin and Michael Park have become only the third non-Nordic drivers to win the Rally Finland in the event's 53-year history. The 27-year-old Estonian and his 37-year-old co-driver powered their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car to victory on the ninth round of the FIA World Rally Championship by 58.9sec to claim their second world rally success in the last four events.

This most spectacular round of the championship is also the most specialised event in the series, with Nordic drivers dominating in the past on the fast, snake-like gravel roads and huge jumps which require precision driving and bravery of the highest level. However, Märtin and Park took the lead in the first few kilometres and saw off the challenge of Finland's defending world champion, Marcus Grönholm, who was chasing a fourth consecutive victory on is home rally. It is the first time a Finnish driver has not been on the podium since 1959 and the first time ever that a Finn has not finished in the top five.

Märtin and Park were roared on by an estimated 10,000 flag-waving Estonian fans who made the short journey across the Baltic Sea and transformed the Finnish countryside into a mass of black, blue and white. Such was the importance of this result to Märtin's home country that Prime Minister Juhan Parts flew in by helicopter to view the final speed test and greet the winning Focus RS crew at the finish.

The victory promoted the Ford BP drivers to fifth in the championship standings, just 12 points from the lead with five rounds remaining. It also marked the 200th world rally triumph for French tyre company Michelin, whose rubber propelled Märtin's Focus RS to victory on the Acropolis Rally in Greece in June.

"This is so special for me," he said. "Winning here means more to me than my first win in Greece because so few non-Finns achieve that and I've dreamed of victory here for so many years. I always thought I could do it and we had a fantastic battle with Marcus before he retired. The Focus is the fastest car in the championship and we've won the fastest rally of the year and beaten the Finns on home ground. If we can win here, we can win anywhere.

"The support has been fantastic. I've been concentrating too hard to see all the flags on the stages but every time we came into the service park the noise was incredible. It shows how much it means to them and I'm sure there will be some big parties back home in Estonia tonight also," said Märtin.

Victory in Finland also meant so much to Ford BP team director Malcolm Wilson. "We designed the new Focus around events like this and this is a very special moment for me. Winning here is something which I've dreamed about since I started in the sport and yesterday. This is the Grand Prix of the rally world and to win here is as good as it gets," he said.

Ford of Europe president Martin Leach added his congratulations. "It's fantastic to see the Focus win the fastest rally in the championship where both reliability and speed are so important. Alongside our win in Greece, where reliability is even more crucial, it shows the strength of the car and we can look forward to the rest of the championship with confidence. It was a great drive by Markko and Michael and a tremendous performance by Malcolm Wilson, technical director Christian Loriaux and the whole Ford BP team."

Ford BP teammates François Duval and Stéphane Prévot started the day in 11th and in a points scoring position for the team. But the Belgians retired 6km after the start of the second stage after hitting a large rock and damaging the left front wheel beyond repair.

Finnish privateers Janne Tuohino and Jukka Aho finished seventh in a 2002-specification Focus RS while 18-year-old Finn Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila were 14th in a similar M-Sport-run car. Latvala, who moved to Britain last year to start his rallying career, as he was too young at the time to hold a Finnish driving licence, was competing on this rally for the first time. "I was so excited to compete on my home event for the first time and it's great to see the finish line," he said.

Round 10 of the 14-rally championship is the penultimate event on gravel and the final non-European rally of the season. The Western Australian capital of Perth hosts the Rally Australia on 4 - 7 November.

Final positions
1. M Märtin (Est) / M Park (GB) - Ford Focus RS 3hr 21min 51.7sec
2. P Solberg (Nor) / P Mills (GB) - Subaru Impreza +0:58.9
3. R Burns (GB) / R Reid (GB) - Peugeot 206 +1:01.1
4. C Sainz (Esp) / M Marti (Esp) - Citroen Xsara +1:59.0
5. S Loeb (Fra) / D Elena (Mon) - Citroen Xsara +2:48.7
6. T Mäkinen (Fin) / K Lindström (Fin) - Subaru Impreza +3:25.2
7. J Tuohino (Fin) / J Aho (Fin) - Ford Focus RS +4:22.9
8. S Lindholm (Fin) / T Hantunen (Fin) - Peugeot 206 +4:39.5
9. J Pykälistö (Fin) / E Mertsalmi (Fin) - Peugeot 206 +6:23.4
10.F Loix (Bel) / S Smeets (Bel) - Hyundai Accent +8:19.9

FIA World Rally Championship (after round 9 of 14) Drivers
1. R Burns 49pts
2. C Sainz 44pts
3=M Grönholm 38pts
3=P Solberg 38pts
5=M Märtin 37pts
5=S Loeb 37pts
10. F Duval 11pts

Manufacturers
1. Peugeot 101pts
2. Citroen 97pts
3=. Ford 60pts
3=. Subaru 60pts
5. Skoda 20pts
6. Hyundai 10pts

For Further information contact:
Mark Wilford
Media Coordinator
Ford Rallye Sport
Phone: +44 1604 598624
Mobile: +44 7770 756214
Email: mwilford@ford.com

For further information contact:
Ben Beazley
Media Coordinator
Ford Racing Australia
Mobile: 0417 262 753
Email: benb@global-marketing.com

Further information and high-resolution images relating to Ford Racing Australia can also be found at: media.ford.com

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