Sweden 2010

AFTER SUCH A CLOSE BATTLE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP LAST YEAR, WHICH SEBASTIEN LOEB WON BY A SINGLE POINT, YOU COULD SENSE THAT BOTH HE AND MIKKO HIRVONEN ARE KEEN TO OUTDO EACH OTHER THIS YEAR. A FORD DRIVER HAS NOT WON THE WORLD TITLE SINCE 1981 AND, CONSIDERING FORD ARE SECOND ONLY TO LANCIA IN TERMS OF RALLIES WON, IT IS UNDERSTANDABLE THAT JARI-MATTI LATVALA WILL HAVE TO PLAY A SUPPORTING ROLE TO MIKKO RATHER THAN TRYING TO WIN RALLIES.

A NEW FACE IS BEING SEEN AT ALL ROUNDS THIS SEASON - KIMI RAIKKONEN, FORMER F1 WORLD CHAMPION IS PART OF THE CITROEN JUNIOR TEAM - WHILST ANOTHER FACE MADE A WELCOME RETURN FOR THIS RALLY ONLY - MARCUS GRONHOLM. THEIR LEVELS OF EXPERIENCE ARE AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE SPECTRUM BUT BOTH WERE EFFECTIVELY NOVICES HERE. KIMI STILL HAS TO GET TO GRIPS WITH ASSIMILATING RAPID PACE NOTES AT SPEED - NOT SOMETHING THAT HE HAS EVER HAD TO DO - WHILST MARCUS HAS HARDLY TOUCHED A WORLD RALLY CAR FOR TWO YEARS.

PETTER SOLBERG WON'T GO AWAY! HE IS COMPETING AGAIN FOR HIS PETTER SOLBERG WORLD RALLY TEAM WITH A CITROËN C4 RATHER THAN LAST YEAR'S XSARA.

SEBASTIEN AND MIKKO BATTLED ALL THROUGH THE RALLY AND NEITHER MADE ANY SERIOUS ERRORS ALTHOUGH SEBASTIEN ADMITTED TO AN INCORRECT TYRE CHOICE EARLY ON. DESPITE SEBASTIEN WINNING MOST STAGES (7), MIKKO GRADUALLY EXTENDED A LEAD THAT EVENTUALLY PROVED TO BE DECISIVE AND TOOK THE RALLY WIN AND THE 25 POINTS - THE NEW SCORING SYSTEM MIRRORS THAT OF THE F.I.A.'S FORMULA ONE SERIES THAT KICKS OFF IN MARCH. SEBASTIEN IS ALREADY 7 POINTS ADRIFT! BOTH WANTED TO BE FIRST TO GET OFF THE MARK WITH A WIN BUT THERE IS ALWAYS ONLY ONE WINNER.

KIMI FINISHED 30TH AND WAS WELL PLEASED WITH HIS LEARNING PROCESS, EVEN SATISFYING HIS ILLUSTRIOUS CO-DRIVER, KAJ LINDSTROM, WHO PREVIOUSLY PARTNERED TOMMI MAKINEN TO MANY WORLD TITLES. MARCUS WAS NOT SO HAPPY - HAVING BEEN THERE AND DONE ALL THAT WITH GREAT SUCCESS OVER MANY YEARS, IT IS DIFFICULT TO ACCEPT LOWER STANDARDS NOW. MICHAEL SCHUMACHER, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED - COMEBACKS ARE NEVER, EVER THAT EASY.

Rally Results posted by
David Little
15th February 2010

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