Jari-Matti Latvala re-wrote the history books as he claimed his maiden World Championship victory on the Swedish Rally.

The 22-year-old Ford driver broke his Finnish countryman Henri Toivonen's 28-year-old record to become the youngest winner in World Rally Championship history as he led his team-mate Mikko Hirvonen home by 58.3 seconds.

"What a feeling," said an elated Latvala. "Henri Toivonen was my hero, and he was 24 years old when he won his first rally.

"In the back of my mind, I wanted to take his record, and here in Sweden is a good place to do it. It's just an amazing feeling. It's all I've been working for.

"I have to say thank you to Ford for trusting me, because I've crashed a lot of cars in the last few years and yet here I am. It's a super feeling. The rally started so well with the first stage. The car has been perfect all weekend, and I'm just so happy.

Hirvonen's second place saw him take a six-point lead in the world championship ahead of Sebastien Loeb and Latvala, who are now tied for second place.

Italian Gigi Galli completed Ford's third 1-2-3 finish in the last 12 months as the Stobart driver equalled the best result of his career and stood on the podium for the first time in two years.

Petter Solberg brought his Subaru home in a comfortable fourth place, but there was no such luck for Britain's Matthew Wilson.

Heading into the final two stages - with stage 18 having been cancelled for safety reasons - Wilson was fifth and 7.9 seconds ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen in what was set to be the best battle of the top ten.

Wilson would never get the chance to defend his position though as his throttle stuck open on stage 19, forcing him to stop and fix it. The Stobart Ford driver lost 25 minutes fixing it, and then retired on the road section after completing the stage.

Teenager Mikkelsen therefore inherited fifth in his Ramsport Ford, giving him the best finish of his career - and his first in the points.

"I'm very happy with the result," said Mikkelsen. "I would rather have got it on my own rather than him breaking down, but fifth is good. I saw him parked up there myself."

Sixth went to Citroen's Dani Sordo, but the Spaniard, who had one of his best performances on gravel, would have finished third had he not started the event with a five-minute penalty for an engine change after Monte Carlo.

Finn Toni Gardemeister came home seventh - giving Suzuki it's best result to date - despite suffering from hydraulic, power steering and suspension problems during the event.

Eighth, and equalling the best finish of his career, was Juho Hanninen, who also won the Group N class in his Mitsubishi, while Subaru privateer Mads Ostberg - despite brake problems and a final-stage spin - made it into ninth after Wilson's retirement and Jari Ketomaa, in a Group N Subaru, completed the top ten.

The star of the final day was Henning Solberg, who was quickest on every stage in his Stobart Ford.

The Norwegian was running under SupeRally rules and with a 15-minute penalty after crashing mid-way through the second day. But his searing pace saw him climb up from 16th to 13th over the final two stages and steal a manufacturers' point for his team.

Other drivers making gains on the final afternoon were Urmo Aava, bringing his PF Sport Citroen up from 22nd to 18th, and Chris Atkinson, who moved up from 26th to 21st in his Subaru.

Jamie O'Leary / Eurosport