Mikko Hirvonen wins in Sweden

Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Focus), after taking the lead of the Rally from Sweden on Friday afternoon, was able to show itself very solid in order to keep the lead in the general classification. During the second day, the Finn picked up the pace, taking advantage of the poor tire choices on Sébastien's car. Loeb (Citroën C4) to widen a significant, even definitive, gap over the Frenchman. This Sunday, after two special stages, the six-time world champion understood: Mikko Hirvonen was too fast to be caught.

The Finn therefore won the first rally of the season, which obviously delighted him. “ It's fantastic, he declared at the finish of the last special. But I'm really happy to be done with it. I was very nervous in the last stages. » For his part, Sébastien Loeb admitted his helplessness in the face of the speed of the Ford driver. “ Mikko had a perfect rally. I made mistakes yesterday but, even without those mistakes, I wouldn't have beaten him. I did my best. »

Behind the duel of the “leaders” Ford and Citroën, the duel of their teammates also saw the Focus ahead of the C4. Dani Sordo, penalized on Saturday by a stop in SS15 due to the presence of a radiator screen causing his engine to overheat, may regret this error. The Spanish driver ranks ahead Sébastien Ogier, very happy to finish behind the four “factory drivers”.

« It?s a very good start for the team, recognized the Frenchman on arrival. It's good for us to have a second season in this great team. The rally went very well the first day, it was harder afterwards. But the most important thing was to finish and score the points. It?s good for confidence. We must continue like this and continue our progress. »