Finland’s Mikko Hirvonen (picture) finally won the Rally of Italy in Sardinia for the first time yesterday after finishing runner-up on five occasions. The Citroen driver took top spot ahead of two Ford Fiesta drivers with Russia’s Evgeny Novikov second at 1min 20.6sec and Estonia’s Ott Tanak third 2:21.1 off the pace. The victory also guarantees 31-year-old Hirvonen second place in the overall drivers’ standings behind French team-mate Sebastien Loeb for the fourth time ahead of the final round in Spain next month. Loeb crashed out of the race during Friday’s third special stage.

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