Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen secured victory in the Acropolis Rally of Greece on Sunday, reducing Sebastien Loeb's World Rally Championship lead to seven points.
Privateer entrant Petter Solberg had been a threat to Hirvonen, but he retired due to broken suspension on Saturday, and the BP Ford team leader was eventually left in a commanding position.
Hirvonen was able to cruise to victory - his first of the year - on the final day, after Dani Sordo also suffered a suspension break, while rookie Sebastien Ogier achieved a brilliant second place in his Citroen Junior Team car.
With Ogier not registered to score points, the BP Ford squad managed 18, thanks to Hirvonen's win and Jari-Matti Latvala's battle back from a mistake on Friday to take third place.
Federico Villagra came home fourth in the Munchi's Ford machine, with Ogier's team-mate Conrad Rautenbach fifth and Khalid Al Qassimi sixth for BP Ford.
Mads Ostberg was seventh in a Subaru, while Lambros Athanassoulas won the Production fight for Skoda, ahead of Nasser Al-Attiyah, who was ninth overall. Mitsubishi's Armindo Araujo completed the top ten.
It was a dreadful outing for the Citroen Total team. Prior to the suspension break for Sordo, who had been battling Hirvonen for the lead, champion Loeb had a massive accident whilst running in third place.
Acropolis Rally of Greece: Final Positions (Top 10)
Pos. Driver, Car, Time/Gap
1. Mikko Hirvonen, Ford, 4hrs09:42.5
2. Sebastien Ogier, Citroen, +1:12.9
3. Jari-Matti Latvala, Ford, +1:45.0
4. Federico Villagra, Ford, +3:48.3
5. Conrad Rautenbach, Citroen, +3:59.8
6. Khalid Al Qassimi, Ford, +7:04.3
7. Mads Ostberg, Subaru, +12:24.9
8. Lambros Athanassoulas, Skoda, +12:47.6
9. Nasser Al-Attiyah, Subaru, +13:09.9
10. Armindo Araujo, Mitsubishi, +15:04.5
URL: http://www.setanta.com/uk/Articles/othe ... nid-56941/
