Day 3 – Latvala claims his first victory!
Jari-Matti Latvala was impressive all weekend and becomes the youngest driver, at 22, to win a WRC championship event. The Finn, in the Ford Focus, indeed leads his teammate Mikko Hirvonen by nearly a minute in the second round of the season: The Rally Sweden. Latvala commented on his joy after breaking the record previously […]
Jari-Matti Latvala was impressive all weekend and becomes the youngest driver, at 22, to win a WRC championship event. The Finn, in the Ford Focus, indeed leads his teammate Mikko Hirvonen by nearly a minute in the second round of the season: The Rally Sweden.
Latvala commented on his joy after breaking the record previously held by the late Henri Toivonen, who was 24 years old when he won the RAC Rally in 1980.
« He was an idol for me,” said Latvala. « I wanted to break this record and finally had the chance to do it here in Sweden. It’s an enormous feeling, especially after our poor result at Monte-Carlo.”
This success of the young Finnish driver first highlights Ford’s dominance on snow where 4 out of the Top 5 drivers are in Ford Focus cars. Mikko Hirvonen indeed secures a second consecutive podium, ahead of Stobart driver Gigi Galli. The Italian equals his best result in WRC.
4th, Peter Solberg in his Subaru Impreza interrupts Ford’s perfect run. He finishes just 35 seconds off the podium. The young 18-year-old driver, Andreas Mikkelsen with a Ford Ramsport, rounds out the top 5, impressing his peers.
Matthew Wilson taking this 5th position yesterday, but the Finn experienced a gear lever problem, losing 25 minutes in SS19.
Citroën had a disastrous weekend, leaving Dani Sordo alone to save the ship and finish in 6th position thanks to numerous retirements. The Spaniard had previously received a 5-minute penalty for his engine change. The same disappointment struck Loeb, who went off the road on the first day and will also receive a 5-minute penalty for the next rally after his engine failure.
Suzuki made a good impression with Toni Gardemeister who took seventh position in the SX4 despite losing 4 minutes due to an error on the second day. His teammate Per-Gunnar Andersson was running in the top 8 before stopping due to an engine failure during stage 1.
Henning Solberg finishes over 15 minutes behind the leader despite having set the fastest time in SS17. Atkinson is over 20 minutes behind with the second Subaru Impreza.
Rally Sweden – Day 3 – Top 10
| Drivers | Teams | Time | |
| 1 | Latvala | Ford Focus | 2:46:41.2 |
| 2 | Hirvonen | Ford Focus | +58.3 |
| 3 | Galli | Ford Focus | +2:23.2 |
| 4 | P.Solberg | Subaru Impreza | +2:59.4 |
| 5 | Mikkelsen | Ford Focus 06 | +5:46.0 |
| 6 | Sordo | Citroen C4 | +7:13.1 |
| 7 | Gardemeister | Suzuki SX4 | +10:35.3 |
| 8 | Hanninen | Mitsubishi Lancer | +12:27.5 |
| 9 | Ostberg | Ford Focus | +13:28.5 |
| 10 | Ketomaa | Ford Focus | +13:50.7 |
In the championship, Hirvonen and Ford take the advantage thanks to Loeb’s retirement and Sordo’s poor results.
