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He may not have been the most obvious choice to get behind the wheel of a factory car, but Hirvonen recently had the opportunity to do just that. Hirvonen, who ended his WRC career at the conclusion of the 2014 season, took part in a test in France earlier this week, driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 at the Col de Mens in the Dévoluy massif. According to French publication AutoHebdo, the four-time World Rally Championship runner-up used the opportunity to test new developments from Hankook. Hankook tyres will continue to be used in the World Rally Championship next year. The company is currently developing new tyres for the 2027 season, so it would not be surprising if work related to those products had already begun. However, the decision to use Hirvonen for the test may raise some questions. The Finn has been competing in historic rallies for several seasons and has therefore not officially competed in a modern rally car for a long time. Aside from a handful of demonstration rallies, Hirvonen’s last official competition was the 2019 Cyprus Rally in the European Rally Championship, where he finished third. On that occasion, Hirvonen drove a Ford Fiesta R5 equipped with MRF tyres, a very different car from the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 he drove earlier this week. That, of course, takes nothing away from Hirvonen’s experience. Although the Finn has stepped back from regular competition for several years, he has never completely hung up his helmet. After his World Rally Championship career, Hirvonen moved into rally-raid and competed in events including the Dakar Rally. He achieved his best result on his very first attempt in 2016, finishing fourth in a Mini All4 Racing. Caps check: Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, WRC, World Rally Championship, AutoHebdo, Hankook, European Rally Championship, Ford Fiesta R5, MRF, Dakar Rally and Mini All4 Racing are consistently capitalised.