New cars, rules and regulations have delivered a thrilling start to the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship. Going into the final day of competition in Rally Sweden, five drivers – split by just 15.8 seconds – were fighting for victory, and outright honours were ultimately claimed by Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen. Second was taken by Mads Østberg and Jonas Andersson, while Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila’s third position ensured a clean sweep of the podium positions for the all-new Ford Fiesta RS WRC.
In the FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers, Hirvonen takes the early lead ahead of Østberg and Latvala, and in the Manufacturers’ Championship, Ford Abu Dhabi takes an 18 point advantage over Citroën Total with M-Sport Stobart a further four points adrift in third.
Today’s route covered two loops of three stages and culminated with the ‘Power Stage’, a new initiative that rewards the three fastest drivers through this single stage with additional Championship points. On this 4.16 km Gustavsfors forest stage, Sébastien Ogier claimed victory and an additional three points, while Sébastien Loeb and Latvala collected a further two and one point respectively for finishing this stage second and third.
As the crews left Karlstad this morning for the first loop of three stages, Hirvonen, Østberg and Petter Solberg all maintained positions at the head of the leaderboard until the mid-day service. However, in the first stage this afternoon Solberg spun, dropping him to fifth, the position he ultimately finished back in Karlstad. While Hirvonen and Østberg continued to battle for victory, the fight for third between Ogier, Latvala and Solberg went on behind them. Ogier briefly held the position but was ultimately overhauled by Latvala when he suffered a problem with the handling of his car.
Behind fourth-placed Ogier, driving the lead Citroën DS3 WRC, and Solberg in fifth, reigning World Champion Sébastien Loeb was forced to settle for sixth. The Frenchman’s rally was all-but over after the first day of competition when he lost much time sweeping the roads of fresh, loose snow. Local hero Per-Gunnar Andersson finished seventh, 40.3 seconds ahead of former Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen. Matthew Wilson and Khalid Al Qassimi claimed the final Championship points for ninth and 10th positions.
The FIA World Rally Championship now heads to the Americas for Rally Mexico (3-6 March). This gravel event will be another challenge for the crews, as high altitudes take their toll on man and machine.
Rally Sweden – Final Results
Subject to the results of final scrutineering and the results of the anti-doping tests for the following drivers: 4, 15, 26
| 1. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen 2. Mads Østberg /Jonas Andersson 3. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila 4. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia 5. Petter Solberg/Chris Patterson 6. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena 7. Per-G Andersson/Emil Axelsson 8. Kimi Räikkönen/Kaj Lindström 9. Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin 10. Khalid Al Qassimi/Michael Orr |
Ford Fiesta RS WRC Ford Fiesta RS WRC Ford Fiesta RS WRC Citroën DS3 WRC Citroën DS3 WRC Citroën DS3 WRC Ford Fiesta RS WRC Citroën DS3 WRC Ford Fiesta RS WRC Ford Fiesta RS WRC |
3 hr 23 min 56.6sec 3 hr 24 min 03.1sec 3 hr 24 min 30.6sec 3 hr 24 min 44.3sec 3 hr 25 min 27.8sec 3 hr 26 min 26.9sec 3 hr 30 min 18.6sec 3 hr 30 min 58.9sec 3 hr 34 min 08.1sec 3 hr 34 min 27.7sec |
FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers (after 1 of 13 rounds)
| Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) Mads Östberg (NOR) Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) Sébastien Ogier (FRA) Petter Solberg (NOR) Sébastien Loeb (FRA) Per-Gunnar Andersson (SWE) Kimi Räikkönen (FIN) Matthew Wilson (GBR) Khalid Al Qassimi (ARE) |
25 points 18 points 16 points 15 points 10 points 10 points 6 points 4 points 2 points 1 point |
FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers (after 1 of 13 rounds)
| Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team Citroën Total World Rally Team M-Sport Stobart Ford World Rally Team Ice 1 Racing Team Abu Dhabi Ferm Power Tools World Rally Team Monster World Rally Team |
40 points 22 points 18 points 8 points 6 points 4 points 2 points |
Related posts:
- WRC Wales Rally GB 2010 – Day 3 Overview
- WRC Rally Sweden 2011 – Day 1
- WRC Rally Spain 2010 – Day 3 Overview
- WRC Rally Japan 2010 – Day 2 Overview
- WRC Wales Rally GB – Day 2 Overview
- WRC Rally Sweden 2011 – Day 2
- WRC Rally Spain 2010 – Day 1 Overview
- Ford locks out podium in Sweden with all-new Fiesta RS WRC
- WRC Rally Spain 2010 – Day 2 Overview
- Petter Solberg will go flat out to win in Rally Sweden 2011
