Hirvonen leads the way in Sweden

Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Focus) occupies, at the end of SS7, the place of leader of the Rally from Sweden. However, everything started well for Sébastien Loeb (Citroën C4) this Friday morning. In SS2 and SS3, the Frenchman set the scratch time, allowing him to take the lead in the event. Mikko Hirvonen?s best time in SS4 did not worry him too much, but SS5 was very different.

« Nothing abnormal happened with the car, declared the six-time world champion at the end of the Likenas special. These are the road conditions. There are very hollowed out portions filled with snow. I expected it and I knew I had no chance. I attacked as much as possible. I took more risks this afternoon than this morning. But the weather is not good. I don?t like these conditions. »

These conditions had serious consequences since the Citroën driver was fifteen seconds slower in this special (SS5), in relation to his first pass (SS2). Sébastien Loeb thus conceded more than ten seconds to Mikko Hirvonen, leaving the Finn in the lead with a 6??7 lead. In SS7, the Ford driver then consolidated his position, finishing the second loop of the day 8??4 ahead of his rival.

In SS6, two other world champions experienced serious problems. Kimi Räikkönen (Citroën C4), who is making his debut in the world championship with the Citroën Junior Team, was the victim of a road trip, remaining stuck for several minutes in a wall of snow. The world champion of F1 was still able to leave, reaching the finish of the special 26 minutes behind the reference time established by Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Focus).

Marcus Grönholm (Ford Focus), world rally champion in 2000 and 2002, encountered electrical problems, which forced him to stop at the start of the special. After stopping for more than ten minutes, the Finn was able to restart, finishing the special twelve minutes late.

At the end of SS7, the general classification is well established, with three drivers clearly standing out. Mikko Hirvonen occupies the lead with an 8??4 lead over Sébastien Loeb and 12??2 over Dani Sordo (Citroën C4), who remains very close to his teammate. Jari-Matti Latvala is fourth at 31??6, ahead of Sébastien Ogier (Citroën C4, +1?10??2) and Henning Solberg (Ford Focus, +1?46??0). Further back, we find Matthew Wilson (Ford Focus) and Mads Östberg (Subaru Impreza).

Before competing in the second stage of the Swedish Rally on Saturday, the drivers will complete the day with the Karlstad super special (1,90 km), already contested on Thursday evening at the opening of the event.