WRC: Mikko Hirvonen and co-driver escape inferno in Italy - MotorSportsTalk

We haven’t paid a ton of attention to the year’s FIA World Rally Championship this season – Sebastien Ogier has three wins and Jari-Matta Latvala two thus far heading into this weekend’s Rally Italia in Sardegnia.

But this was something to note.

M-Sport Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen, who’s had some appalling luck this year, had more bad luck strike him this weekend in Italy.

First, take a quick look at the picture to the right to see what the car used to look like earlier this year.

Now, below, you’ll see what it looks like now after a massive inferno engulfed his Ford Fiesta between stages 3 and 4 on the Rally Italia. The Finn and co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen escaped injury though.

Here’s a quick recap via Twitter:

Mikko and Jarmo’s Fiesta has caught fire on the road section between SS3 and SS4. The car will not restart but most importantly crew both OK

— M-Sport (@MSportLtd) June 6, 2014

Big drama for @MikkoWRC on the road section between stage 3 & 4. Both Mikko and Jarmo are fine. pic.twitter.com/v6AOYlzV5J

— WRC (@OfficialWRC) June 6, 2014

This is what remains of Mikko’s Fiesta after it burnt out on the road section. The crew are fine. pic.twitter.com/2LEJlA1WW3

— WRC (@OfficialWRC) June 6, 2014

Hirvonen wrote this on Twitter later:

It is amazing… How things can go wrong… Now, i need everybody to make a dance or something, to turn my amazingly bad luck around #wrc

— Mikko Hirvonen (@MikkoWRC) June 6, 2014

As yet, no cause has been given to why the fire occurred. “We changed the tires and checked the pressures as normal between stages and everything was okay,” Hirvonen said, via the official WRC website. “But then the car caught fire for no reason.When I was fighting the fire, the rear bumper was fine and sometimes that can break and catch on the exhaust which causes a fire. It’s strange.”

Given that blaze, we’re thankful all are OK.

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In a continuing effort to help fans keep track of the on track action, SuperMotocross is in the process of developing and implementing leader lights for the unified series.

Currently Supercross (SMX) utilizes stanchions in the infield that are triggered manually by a race official. At least two stanchions are used in each race as a way to draw the eye to the leader, which is especially useful in the tight confines of the stadium series when lapping often begins before the halfway mark in the 22-bike field. This system has been in place for the past two decades.

Later this year, a fully automated system will move to the bike itself to replace the old system. At that point, fans will be able to identify the leader regardless of where he is on track.

The leader lights were tested in the second Anaheim round this year. An example can be seen at the 1:45 mark in the video above on the No. 69 bike.

“What we don’t want to do is move too fast, where it’s confusing to people,” said Mike Muye, senior director of operations for Supercross and SMX in a press release. “We’ve really just focused on the leader at this point with the thought that maybe down the road we’ll introduce others.”

Scheduled to debut with the first SuperMotocross World Championship race at zMax Dragway, located just outside the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 3D carbon fiber-printed LED light will be affixed to each motorcycle. Ten timing loops positioned around the track will trigger the lights of the leader, which will turn green.

SMX’s partner LiveTime Scoring helped develop and implement the system that has been tested in some form or fashion since 2019.

When the leader lights are successfully deployed, SuperMotocross will explore expanding the system to identify the second- and third-place riders. Depending on need and fan acceptance, more positions could be added.

SuperMotocross is exploring future enhancements, including allowing for live fan interaction with the lights and ways to use the lighting system during the race’s opening ceremony.

Read more about SuperMotocross