Hirvonen claims victory in the first leg of the Rally of Sweden

In Sweden, Mikko Hirvonen has been the undisputed leader of the first stage of the rally, held yesterday, opening the new 2010 season of WRC (World Rally Championship). Hirvonen dominated much of the second day, with a total of 126 km. divided into eight stages. Loeb and Sordo, Citroën both holders, were near the same success.

Despite the slight difference, the Finn with the wheel of Ford closed the competition with a lead of 6.2 seconds on Sébastien Loeb in the Citroen C4. Dani Sordo, Spanish competitor, is ranked 3rd in the final Stage 4 seconds behind Loeb. The number 4 ranking is occupied by Jari-Matti Latvala.

Kimi Raikkonen, the former Formula 1 champion, finished in last place in the table (47th) at the end fitted with a snow bank and lost more than 25 minutes coming in minute immobilized +30:35.9 s. The biggest incident occurred when Matthew Wilson (8th) stopped and had a sharp clash with the English driver Petter Solberg (13th). Fortunately there were no major consequences and the race went on without problems.

We present below the general classification at the end of the first phase held in the Swedish Rally:

1 Mikko Hirvonen - Ford (1:08)
2. Sébastien Loeb - Citroën (+6.2)
3. Dani Sordo - Citroen (+10.6)
4. Jari-Matti Latvala - Ford (+31.7)
5. Sébastien Ogier - Citroen (+1:10)
6. Henning Solberg - Ford (+2:16)
7. Mads Östberg - Subaru (+3:20)
8. Matthew Wilson - Ford (+3:21)

Via | Sport

Images: Flickr