Mikko Hirvonen wins Monte Carlo Rally with ease after trouble-free run

Ford achieved the perfect result in the early hours of this morning when Mikko Hirvonen brought his Fiesta S2000 home to victory on its debut in the Monte Carlo Rally. The Finn, ranked No2 in the world, may have been expected to lead from start to finish in extremely tricky conditions but a largely trouble-free run for the new car was an unexpected bonus. "This is a dream result," said Malcolm Wilson, boss of the Cumbria-based M-Sport firm that builds and runs rally cars on behalf of Ford. "Winning the Monte is always a big high, but it's the way we achieved it that makes this result so special. There were no issues with the car and Mikko drove superbly on the different road conditions." The vagaries of this classic event were demonstrated when Sébastien Ogier closed to within 39 seconds of Hirvonen, only to have his Peugeot 207 suffer an alternator failure late on Friday night, leaving Skoda to mop up second and third places. Guy Wilks, the highest placed Briton, finished a disappointing sixth after struggling to come to terms with his Skoda Fabia. Kris Meeke, a serious challenger to Hirvonen, lost second place at the start of Thursday morning's loop through the Ardèche when the Ulsterman's Peugeot crashed on black ice. Formula One driver Robert Kubica did not make the start after suffering an engine failure on his Renault Clio during the preliminary run on Tuesday evening. The 78th running of the Monte Carlo Rally was the opening round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and, as such, was a serious threat to the struggling FIA World Rally Championship, which begins in Sweden next month. The unique challenge and spectacle of the event as competitors faced sunshine, snow, ice and fog was captured live on Eurosport.