The final round of the 2014 World Rally Championship was an emotional one for Sparco supported driver Mikko Hirvonen as he claimed a fantastic podium result in his final WRC event.

 

Hirvonen, who has worn Sparco overalls throughout the 2014 season with the M-Sport World Rally Team, took an incredible podium finish, claiming a comfortable second place after the 23 stages of Rally GB. 

 

In a positive rally for the M-Sport team, local hero Elfyn Evans finished in fifth place, just 20 seconds from the podium positions.

 

Sparco has supported the M-Sport team all season with its state of the art overalls, helping the team to some excellent results in a competitive year for the World Rally Championship. Finishing on the podium with Hirvonen, who also took a podium at the last rally in Spain, with two cars in the top five, was a great way to end the season.

 

There was further success for Sparco drivers in WRC2 as Jari Ketomaa took the class victory in Wales, finishing in 12th overall. The result showed the strength in depth of Sparco’s rally drivers in the World Rally Championship, and provided an ideal way for the company to end its latest season in the sport.

 

Sparco has been present for over 30 years in international rallying so it has been a pleasure for the company to continue its successful partnerships in both WRC and WRC2 this season – with regular rally winning and podium success. 

 

Sparco’s CEO Claudio Pastoris said: “Firstly, we would like to congratulate Mikko Hirvonen and the M-Sport World Rally Team on a fantastic second place in Wales – and to Mikko on a hugely impressive career. We are honoured to have had him wear our overalls and we are thrilled to share in this podium with him. To see local star Elfyn Evans claim a top five finish in his home rally was also very special, and our win in WRC with Jari Ketomaa made it a wonderful rally weekend for Sparco. We’ve been involved in world rally for three decades and this season has been very exciting; we have had some great memories from 2014 and we now look towards next season with tremendous excitement.”