KEY POINTS:
HELSINKI - Ford's Marcus Gronholm clinched his fourth straight Finnish Rally title, winning the 23-stage race on his home soil forest tracks in a total time of two hours, 57 minutes 26.1 seconds.
He edged out compatriot and team mate Mikko Hirvonen by 24.2 seconds overall, with Citroen's triple world champion Sebastien Loeb of France in third place a further 45.7 seconds behind.
With his win the Finn extended his world championship lead to 13 points over Loeb, with seven races remaining in the championship including the next rally in Germany, on tarmac, from August 17-19.
"I'm very happy, and it's nice to get the 10 points here before we head to Germany," said Gronholm, who has now won the Finnish Rally seven times.
"When I was a young driver in the 1990s I could never have thought that I would ever win here, but seven times looks very good," said Gronholm.
Gronholm wrapped up the victory in style with three stage wins out of three on the final day, beating Hirvonen into second place on the final Ruuhumaki run, the day's shortest course, by 1.7 seconds.
Subaru's Australian driver Chris Atkinson finished in fourth spot, Loeb, while Norway's Henning Solberg was fifth.
Although eclipsed by his team mate during most of the four-day race, Hirvonen was pleased with his performance.
"It's been a fantastic rally for me," he said. "I'm really happy to be so close to Marcus."
Loeb said the Ford duo had been too quick for him to compete for victory.
"In Finland we have to accept that the Finns are fast," he said. "But I have to do better in Germany. I have to win a lot of rallies now if I want to win the championship."
- REUTERS
