Penalised Sordo happy with sixth

The World Rally Championship regulations demand that drivers use the same engine for both the Monte Carlo season-opener and the Swedish event, but Citroen discovered damage to Sordo's engine after he finished 11th in the Principality last month.

The Spaniard had run second in Monte Carlo early on before a turbo failure forced him to retire from day three. He then restarted the rally for the final day in order to collect manufacturers' championship points.

Sordo admitted that fortune had played a part in his Swedish result, as many front-runners - including his team leader Sebastien Loeb - suffered accidents or mechanical problems. But had he not incurred the five-minute penalty, Sordo's times would have earned him third place ahead of Gigi Galli.

"I've had some good luck in this rally because a lot of cars have stopped," Sordo said. "But I think after starting this rally with a five minute penalty, it's not a bad result. The most important thing is the points for the manufacturers' championship."

Knowing that he would be hard-pressed to challenge for points, Sordo decided early on to use the rally as a development test, as he has relatively little experience of snow rallying. He said the event proved to be a valuable learning experience.

"I think I've learnt a lot in this rally," Sordo said. "All the time I've got more and more confident.

"Today I didn't push so hard because it would have been stupid. But I'm happy, the team have worked a lot for me."