# 2008 Swedish Rally

The 2008 Swedish Rally, officially 57th Uddeholm Swedish Rally, was the second round of the 2008 World Rally Championship season. It was the season's first and only event held on snow- and ice-covered gravel roads. The rally took place during February 7–10, beginning with the Super Special Stage placed in the rally's base, Karlstad. The rally was also the first round of the Production Car World Rally Championship this season.
Even though it snowed before the rally, eliminating the threat of calling the event off, the mild temperatures caused cancellation of stages 12 and 18, shortening the overall competitive length.
The rally was won by BP Ford World Rally Team's Jari-Matti Latvala; the first of his championship career. Latvala's teammate and compatriot Mikko Hirvonen was second and Stobart VK M-Sport Ford's Gigi Galli completed an all-Ford podium. Subaru World Rally Team's Petter Solberg was fourth, followed by Andreas Mikkelsen, Dani Sordo, Toni Gardemeister, Juho Hänninen, Mads Østberg and Jari Ketomaa. Fifth-placed Matthew Wilson ran into technical problems with throttle on the penultimate stage and had to retire. Sébastien Loeb crashed out and rolled his car while running third, then retired again, after restarting under SupeRally and winning two stages, because of the damaged engine. Henning Solberg inherited the third place, but later suffered a puncture causing him to slip further down and then crashed while running fourth and was forced to retire for the second day; after rejoining the fight under SupeRally format Norwegian was the fastest driver on day three, winning all the remaining stages.
With his debut win, the 22-year old Latvala became the then-youngest winner in the history of the WRC, breaking Henri Toivonen's record from the 1980 RAC Rally; his own record would stand until the 2021 Rally Estonia where it would be broken by the 20-year-old Kalle Rovanperä.

## Results

| Pos. | Driver | Co-driver | Car | Time | Difference | Points |
| WRC |||||||
| 1. | Jari-Matti Latvala | Miikka Anttila | Ford Focus RS WRC 07 | 2:46:41.2 | | 10 |
| 2. | Mikko Hirvonen | Jarmo Lehtinen | Ford Focus RS WRC 07 | 2:47:39.5 | +58.3 | 8 |
| 3. | Gigi Galli | Giovanni Bernacchini | Ford Focus RS WRC 07 | 2:49:04.4 | 2:23.2 | 6 |
| 4. | Petter Solberg | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC2007 | 2:49:40.6 | 2:59.4 | 5 |
| 5. | Andreas Mikkelsen | Ola Floene | Ford Focus RS WRC 06 | 2:52:27.2 | 5:46.0 | 4 |
| 6. | Dani Sordo | Marc Marti | Citroën C4 WRC | 2:53:54.3 $^{[1]}$ | 7:13.1 | 3 |
| 7. | Toni Gardemeister | Tomi Tuominen | Suzuki SX4 WRC | 2:57:16.5 | 10:35.3 | 2 |
| 8. | Juho Hänninen | Mikko Markkula | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 2:59:08.7 | 12:27.5 | 1 |
| | | | $^{[1]}$ — Including 5 minute penalty for replacing the damaged engine after malfunction during 2008 Monte Carlo Rally. | $^{[1]}$ — Including 5 minute penalty for replacing the damaged engine after malfunction during 2008 Monte Carlo Rally. | $^{[1]}$ — Including 5 minute penalty for replacing the damaged engine after malfunction during 2008 Monte Carlo Rally. | $^{[1]}$ — Including 5 minute penalty for replacing the damaged engine after malfunction during 2008 Monte Carlo Rally. |
| PCWRC |||||||
| 1. (8.) | Juho Hänninen | Mikko Markkula | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 2:59:08.7 | | 10 |
| 2. (10.) | Jari Ketomaa | Miika Teiskonen | Subaru Impreza WRX STi N14 | 3:00:31.9 | 1:23.2 | 8 |
| 3. (11.) | Patrik Sandell | Emil Axelsson | Peugeot 207 S2000 | 3:01:00.5 | 1:51.8 | 6 |
| 4. (12.) | Martin Prokop | Jan Tománek | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 3:01:11.7 | 2:03.0 | 5 |
| 5. (14.) | Uwe Nittel | Detlef Ruf | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 3:03:04.0 | 3:55.3 | 4 |
| 6. (15.) | Toshihiro Arai | Glenn MacNeall | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | 3:03:31.6 | 4:22.9 | 3 |
| 7. (17.) | Armindo Araujo | Miguel Ramalho | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 3:05:13.9 | 6:05.2 | 2 |
| 8. (19.) | Bernardo Sousa | Carlos Magalhães | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 3:07:07.3 | 7:58.6 | 1 |

## Special stages

All dates and times are CET (UTC+1).
| Day | Stage | Time | Name | Length | Winner | Time | Avg. spd. | Rally leader |
| 1 (7 FEB) | SS1 | 20:04 | SSS Karlstad 1 | 1.90 km | P. Solberg | 1:28.9 | 76.5 km/h | P. Solberg |
| 2 (8 FEB) | SS2 | 09:34 | Stensjön 1 | 15.50 km | J. Latvala | 7:24.0 | 125.7 km/h | J. Latvala |
| 2 (8 FEB) | SS3 | 10:44 | Bjälverud 1 | 21.58 km | J. Latvala | 10:33.7 | 122.5 km/h | J. Latvala |
| 2 (8 FEB) | SS4 | 11:23 | Mangen 1 | 22.09 km | J. Latvala | 12:20.7 | 107.4 km/h | J. Latvala |
| 2 (8 FEB) | SS5 | 13:25 | Stensjön 2 | 15.50 km | J. Latvala | 7:22.3 | 126.2 km/h | J. Latvala |
| 2 (8 FEB) | SS6 | 14:35 | Bjälverud 2 | 21.58 km | J. Latvala | 10:32.4 | 122.8 km/h | J. Latvala |
| 2 (8 FEB) | SS7 | 15:14 | Mangen 2 | 22.09 km | J. Latvala | 12:21.2 | 107.3 km/h | J. Latvala |
| 2 (8 FEB) | SS8 | 18:00 | SSS Karlstad 2 | 1.90 km | G. Galli | 1:28.2 | 77.6 km/h | J. Latvala |
| 3 (9 FEB) | SS9 | 08:25 | Horssjön 1 | 14.89 km | S. Loeb | 9:18.1 | 96.0 km/h | J. Latvala |
| 3 (9 FEB) | SS10 | 09:38 | Hagfors 1 | 20.92 km | D. Sordo | 11:45.8 | 106.7 km/h | J. Latvala |
| 3 (9 FEB) | SS11 | 10:41 | Vargåsen 1 | 24.63 km | S. Loeb | 13:49.1 | 106.9 km/h | J. Latvala |
| 3 (9 FEB) | SS12 | 13:04 | Horssjön 2 | 14.89 km | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | | J. Latvala |
| 3 (9 FEB) | SS13 | 14:17 | Hagfors 2 | 20.92 km | D. Sordo | 11:30.1 | 109.1 km/h | J. Latvala |
| 3 (9 FEB) | SS14 | 15:20 | Vargåsen 2 | 24.63 km | M. Hirvonen | 13:32.5 | 109.1 km/h | J. Latvala |
| 4 (10 FEB) | SS15 | 08:08 | Ullen 1 | 16.25 km | H. Solberg | 8:21.7 | 116.6 km/h | J. Latvala |
| 4 (10 FEB) | SS16 | 09:13 | Lesjöfors 1 | 10.49 km | H. Solberg | 5:54.5 | 106.5 km/h | J. Latvala |
| 4 (10 FEB) | SS17 | 09:45 | Rämmen 1 | 21.87 km | H. Solberg | 11:14.4 | 116.7 km/h | J. Latvala |
| 4 (10 FEB) | SS18 | 11:21 | Ullen 2 | 16.25 km | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | | J. Latvala |
| 4 (10 FEB) | SS19 | 12:26 | Lesjöfors 2 | 10.49 km | H. Solberg | 5:43.8 | 109.7 km/h | J. Latvala |
| 4 (10 FEB) | SS20 | 12:58 | Rämmen 2 | 21.87 km | H. Solberg | 11:07.1 | 118.0 km/h | J. Latvala |

## Championship standings after the event
### Drivers' championship

| Pos | Driver | MON | SWE | MEX | ARG | JOR | ITA | GRC | TUR | FIN | GER | NZL | ESP | FRA | JPN | GBR | Pts |
| 1 | Mikko Hirvonen | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 16 |
| 2 | Jari-Matti Latvala | 12 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10 |
| 2 | Sébastien Loeb | 1 | Ret. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10 |
| 4 | Gigi Galli | 6 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 9 |
| 4 | Petter Solberg | 5 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 9 |
| 6 | Chris Atkinson | 3 | 21 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 6 |
| 7 | François Duval | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 |
| 8 | Andreas Mikkelsen | | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 |
| 9 | Dani Sordo | 11 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 |
| 10 | Jean-Marie Cuoq | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 10 | Toni Gardemeister | Ret. | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 12 | Per-Gunnar Andersson | 8 | Ret. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| 12 | Juho Hänninen | | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| Pos | Driver | MON | SWE | MEX | ARG | JOR | ITA | GRC | TUR | FIN | GER | NZL | ESP | FRA | JPN | GBR | Pts |
Key :
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Did not finish (Ret) |
| Black | Excluded (EX) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Withdrew entry from the event (WD) |

### Manufacturers' championship

| Rank | Driver | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Total points |
| Rank | Driver | MON | SWE | MEX | ARG | JOR | ITA | GRC | TUR | FIN | GER | NZL | ESP | FRA | JPN | GBR | Total points |
| 1 | BP Ford World Rally Team | 8 | 18 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 26 |
| 2 | Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally Team | 8 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 16 |
| 2 | Subaru World Rally Team | 10 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 16 |
| 4 | Citroën Total World Rally Team | 11 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 15 |
| 5 | Suzuki World Rally Team | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| 6 | Munchi's Ford World Rally Team | | | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |

### Production championship

Points table:
| Pos | Driver | SWE | ARG | GRC | TUR | FIN | NZL | JPN | GBR | Pts |
| 1 | Juho Hänninen | 1 | | | | | | | | 10 |
| 2 | Jari Ketomaa | 2 | | | | | | | | 8 |
| 3 | Patrik Sandell | 3 | | | | | | | | 6 |
| 4 | Martin Prokop | 4 | | | | | | | | 5 |
| 5 | Uwe Nittel | 5 | | | | | | | | 4 |
| 6 | Toshihiro Arai | 6 | | | | | | | | 3 |
| 7 | Armindo Araújo | 7 | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 8 | Bernardo Sousa | 8 | | | | | | | | 1 |
| Pos | Driver | SWE | ARG | GRC | TUR | FIN | NZL | JPN | GBR | Pts |