SS1: Sordo takes superspecial glory

Dani Sordo took the spoils at tonight’s opening 1.9km Super Special Stage in Karlstad. The Spaniard, piloting a MINI WRC, finished 0.3 seconds ahead of snow specialist Mads Ostberg in a Ford Fiesta RS WRC.

Sub-zero temperatures and a glorious firework display greeted the WRC crews ahead of Rally Sweden’s opening Super Special, and on his competitive debut on snow in the MINI, Sordo was out to impress.

"The stage was really, really nice," he said. "We are happy now but it was just a short stage and tomorrow is going to be a long day."

Estonia’s Ott Tanak was third quickest, 0.3s behind fellow Fiesta RS WRC driver Ostberg. "For me, that stage was like a Mickey Mouse stage. The aim was to make it through without any problems and then the real competition starts tomorrow," said Tanak.

Seven-time WRC champion Sebastien Loeb completed the Super Special matching Norway’s Petter Solberg’s time to sit joint fourth overnight in their Citroen and Ford respectively.

An elated Solberg said he could not wait to compete on home soil tomorrow: "That was a fantastic start. I am really, really pleased with that! I’m very excited for the rally moving to Norway tomorrow. It’s going to be an amazing atmosphere with my home fans!"

Finns Mikko Hirvonen (Citroen) and Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford) finished sixth and seventh respectively, with Latvala reporting a loss of time at the start line.

In the SWRC category, Proton’s P-G Andersson - a firm favourite with locals - completed the stage quickest.

Hayden Paddon finished second quickest in SWRC with Alister McRae, bringing the legendary McRae name back to the WRC, in third. Ireland’s Craig Breen is sixth in the support series after losing time with a right-rear puncture on his Fiesta S2000.

Standings after SS1: