Hirvonen passes to Dakar
Mikko Hirvonen, a 15-time World Rally Rally winner, will compete with the X-Raid team at the Dakar Desert Rally this year. The Finn said goodbye to the World Rally Championship at the end of last season at the age of 34, and at the 2016 Dakar he will compete with Mini, whom he has already tested in Morocco. The navigation notes will be read to him by Michel Perin, who last year celebrated victory in the desert test with Nani Roma. “Half a year ago, I didn’t know more about the Dakar than I saw on TV,” Hirvonen admitted. “I knew it was a long race with no accurate notes of speeds and turns and that it was more about good orientation than fast driving,” he added.