Gronholm wins fourth Swedish rally

Ford's Marcus Gronholm celebrated his 38th birthday by winning his fourth Swedish rally yesterday, edging out world champion Sebastien Loeb by 30.9 seconds. "This is a nice birthday present, it could not be better," Gronholm said. "It's been a really...

Ford's Marcus Gronholm celebrated his 38th birthday by winning his fourth Swedish rally yesterday, edging out world champion Sebastien Loeb by 30.9 seconds.

"This is a nice birthday present, it could not be better," Gronholm said. "It's been a really good start to the WRC for us."

The Finn, who also won the season-opener rally in Monte Carlo ahead of the Frenchman, finished the 19 stages in a time of three hours, nine minutes and 1.9 seconds.

Homecrowd favourite Daniel Carlsson (Mitsubishi) finished third, trailing Gronholm by two minutes 56.8 seconds. His Italian team-mate Gianluigi Galli was fourth.

Gronholm, twice world champion, joined Ford at the beginning of this year after six years with Peugeot. He led throughout the race although he had to overcome a tough challenge from Loeb on the final day.

The Swedish rally is the only true winter event in the World Rallying Championship (WRC).

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