Hirvonen resists Ostberg for victory

Mikko Hirvonen has described winning Rally Sweden for the second year in a row as ’absolutely fantastic’.

The Finn powered his Ford Fiesta RS WRC into first place on Saturday morning and held on to the finish this afternoon following a thrilling five-way battle for WRC glory.

His win, the first of the new World Rally Car era, was his 13th in the world championship and makes him Ford’s most successful driver at world level.

“It’s absolutely fantastic,” said Hirvonen, who was co-driven to victory by countryman Jarmo Lehtinen. “It’s so nice to win the first rally in the new Fiesta also. I have to say I was really nervous before the start of the last stage but now I am really happy to have made such a good start to the season.”