DREAM FINISH FOR ØSTBERG IN SWEDEN

MADS Østberg has made a fairytale debut for the M-Sport Stobart Ford World Rally Team by finishing second overall on the Swedish Rally, opening round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

The 23-year-old Norwegian driver shone from start to finish in the all-new Ford Fiesta RS WRC and led the rally for nine out of the 22 stages – a remarkable achievement considering Østberg had completed only one short test in the new car prior to Sweden.

“I could never have imagined to finish this rally in a podium position – it feels very, very good!,” he said afterwards. “I was on the absolute limit today – if I went any faster, I would have made a mistake and I did not want to risk the fantastic result that we already had. It has been a brilliant weekend and to have won the first full stage in the new Ford Fiesta RS WRC is a record nobody can ever take away from me. The car has been fantastic and it is of great credit to the car and to Jonas [Andersson] who have played such a big part in helping me to achieve my first WRC podium. “At the start of today I was thinking that it would mean everything to me if I could walk away with a podium position. Even though I was so close to catching Mikko [Hirvonen], he was pushing too hard and there was not enough stages to be able to catch him up. I was up against the best drivers in the world this weekend so to finish second is a dream come true.”

Østberg’s previous best result on a WRC event was sixth on the 2009 Rally Portugal. And in addition to his best ever finish, he became the first Stobart driver to lead a rally at the end of a full day and his second-place finish is the highest ever result in the squad’s six year history.

M-Sport Stobart Ford Team Principal Malcolm Wilson said: “This has been a dream start for both Ford and for the M-Sport Stobart Ford World Rally Team.

“We are absolutely delighted that the Ford family have finished their debut event in the new Ford Fiesta RS WRC with a 1-2-3 on the podium - I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect season-opener.

“Mads has made an incredible debut in our new car - he has driven remarkably well from start to finish. He has really impressed this weekend - I hope that we can expect to see more podium finishes from the young talented driver throughout the season.”

"Solberg also showed an incredible pace over the weekend but it was unfortunate that he had to retire yesterday, especially after he set some very fast times on the opening day. Matthew has done very well to battle back from the time he lost on the opening day and I am certain he will produce a strong performance when he drives the Fiesta RS WRC on gravel in Mexico.”