SS 17: Hirvonen extends lead

Rally leader Mikko Hirvonen, first on the road, made a brilliant start to the finishing leg of Rally Sweden when he won the SS 17 Torntorp 2,6 seconds ahead of overall second Mads Østberg and another 8,8 ahead of Petter Solberg. The top five, starting the day inside 16 seconds, are now inside 32,8 but the race is still wide open.

Hirvonens co-drive Jarmo Lehtinen said this to wrc.com efter the Torntorp-stage:
“If there is something to fight for you really want to be awake for this stage. It’s ultra-fast and in a very, very condition. I’ve never seen such a good condition for his stage. It’s a thick layer of solid ice with snow banks big enough that you can lean on a little bit. It’s really like fifth and sixth gear stuff all the way through combined with a couple of slow sections but even these are nice and flowing. You need to be very brave on this stage to make a good time.”