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Petter Solberg triumphs in prologue of Swedish Rally

Mikko Hirvonen of Finland drives his Ford Focus RS WRC during the prologue of the Swedish Rally in Karlstad, Sweden, on Thursday. PHOTO: EPA

Petter Solberg took the early lead in the Swedish Rally, winning the prologue on an illuminated horse trotting course on Thursday night.

The Norwegian, who won the world title in 2003 and was the Swedish Rally winner in 2005, drove the 2km track in 1 minute, 28.9 seconds in his Subaru Impreza.

Jari-Matti Latvala of Finland, driving a Ford Focus RS WRC, was half a second behind in second place. Mikko Hirvonen of Finland, Latvala's teammate, was third, 0.9 seconds behind.

World championship leader Sebastien Loeb of France, who won the season opener in Monte Carlo, finished fourth, 1.1 seconds back, in his Citroen.

Loeb, who became the first non-Nordic winner of the rally in 2004, is trying to win a record 100th world rally event in Sweden this weekend.

"My 100th start is a nice round figure, but it's not that important to me," said Loeb, the reigning four-time world champion.

The Swedish Rally, run on ice-covered roads in western Sweden, consists of 19 special stages and ends tomorrow on the trotting course in Karlstad where it started on Thursday.
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