Ford’s lead driver, Mikko Hirvonen, won this year’s Rally of Sweden – making it a solid start for him and his Ford team in their quest to dethrone Sebastian Loeb and Citroen for the 2010 WRC title. Hiroven, who took the lead on Friday, finished 42.3 seconds ahead of Sebastien Loeb – to ensure that he sealed the 12th win of his career.

Sweden’s icy stages mean that the temperatures can drop well below minus 25 degrees Celsius – creating harsh driving conditions, and making tyre selection a major determinant in setting fast stage times. So was the case with Hirvonen, who got the tactical advantage when Loeb made the wrong tyre choice – thereby handing the the lead to the Finn. With this win, Mikko has grabbed 25 points, followed by Loeb claiming 18 points – as per the revised points system in both WRC and F1.

Ford further rejoiced their win, as compatriot Jari-Matti Latvala finished third, just 33.1 seconds behind Loeb. This result has ensured Latvala 15 points in the Drivers Standings, while Ford adds an initial lead of 40 points in the Manufacturers Standings. Fourth place went to Loeb’s teammate Dani Sordo, who finished 1 minute and 26.2 seconds behind Latvala.

Former World Champion, Petter Solberg, driving his new Citroen C4 WRC car could only manage ninth place – mainly due to set up issues in his new car. Former double World Rally Champion, Marcus Gronholm, also had a weekend plagued with problems. Continuing that trend was, WRC debutant, F1 star Kimi Raikkonen – who went off the road early on, and lost a great deal of time. He rejoined, however, to set some impressive stage times, and gain some experience on the snow.