Finland's Mikko Hirvonen held off the challenge of six-times champion Sebastien Loeb to clinch victory in the season opener in Sweden.

Photos: McKlein

The Ford driver, who lost the title to Loeb by a point last season, led after Friday's and Saturday's stages and wrapped up the win in wintry conditions by a margin of 42.3 seconds.

The victory was Hirvonen's 12th in the world rally championship (WRC) and he was rewarded with 25 points under the scoring system brought in last week to mirror the scoring system used in Formula One. Citroen's Loeb was 16 seconds behind heading into the final day and never looked like he had a chance of snatching victory. Hirvonen's team mate and compatriot Jari-Matti Latvala rolled in third.