Not only has the Citroen Total World Rally Team got eight times world champion Sebastien Loeb and Co-driver Daniel Elena driving for them but they have also just poached Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen from Ford`s World Rally team for 2012. It`s been a great start to the year for the French team with Loeb and Elena winning the opening Monte Carlo Rally and now the newbies winning the warm-up Finnskog Rally in Norway.
The second points-worthy WRC race is in Sweden this weekend and with Mikko Hirvonen being Finnish, we reckon he`ll be a strong contender in the snow. In Norway Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen made it look easy driving out first over the fresh white blanket of snow in temperatures of minus 30 degrees. The eight stage rally set up plenty of challenges but Hirvonen said: “Our feeling with the car improved the further we went.” Henning Solberg and Mads Ostberg had to settle for second and third places and Hirvonen stated that they took the lead due to having found "the right set-up in testing. The conditions were similar to those we will have at Rally Sweden, so we’re confident. We have a very positive feeling. The DS3 WRC is genuinely quick in the most extreme conditions.”
