Mikko Hirvonen drove his Ford Focus RS to a win this weekend during the World Rally Championship’s Pioneer Carrozzeria Rally Japan. He finished 30 seconds ahead of the second place finisher Jari-Matti Latvala, who was also in a Ford Focus RS.

The top finishing drivers were:

1 – Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Focus RS WRC 07)
2 – Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Focus RS WRC 07)
3 – Sebastien Loeb (Citroen C4)
4 – Chris Atkinson (Subaru Impreza WRC 2008)
5 – Per-Gunnar Andersson (Suzuki SX4)

Some of the big name drivers that didn’t finish the weekend included Dani Sordo, Francois Duval, Henning Solberg, and Conrad Rautenbach.

The full results from the race have been posted here:

Results from the 2008 WRC Pioneer Carrozzeria Rally Japan

The standings have been updated and can be seen here:

2008 World Rally Championship Standings

After a long break for the World Rally Championship, things have returned in much the same fashion as they had left off. In fact, the Top-3 finishing teams at this weekend’s Spanish Rally were the same drivers as led the New Zealand Rally back in August. Once again the top finishers included: Sebastien Loeb, Daniel Sordo, and Mikko Hirvonen. Only one second separated the third place time from the winner’s results. This also marked Loeb’s fourth straight win in the series.

Some of the more notable drivers to retire early from the 2008 Rallye de Espana were Urmo Aava, Conrad Rautenbach, and Sebastien Ogier.

For the full results, click here:

Results from the 2008 WRC Rallye de Espana

The standings have been updated and can be seen here:

2008 World Rally Championship Standings