The pure snow event of Rally Norway is the only scheduled snow rally on the 2009 WRC calendar. Five time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb has never managed to dominate on these rallies in the past, but after successfully conquering such demanding rallies as Finland, the Monte and GB, he was expected to put up a strong fight for this one.

The event also welcomed back 2003 World Champion, Petter Solberg. The golden boy of Norwegian rallying took part in a car run by his own team, the Petter Solberg World Rally Team. Petter kept Welshman Phil Mills alongside him, and also drafted in a few familiar faces from his days at Subaru. He set the super special stage alight as he set the fastest time on the opening stage, in front of a jubilant home crowd. He didn't continue that success through the weekend, but put in a stellar performance, especially when you consider that the car he drive to 6th place overall is severely lacking in power to his rivals, and is considerably older too. The rally victory was an intense battle between last years championship sparring partners Sebastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen. Mikko set four fastest stage times on the first day, compared to Sebastien's one, however Loeb ended the day at the top of the pile by almost 3 seconds. P-G Andersson put in a fine demonstration of what to expect from the Skoda Fabia WRC. He set two fastest stage times on the opening day, but retired on the second day with clutch problems.
Loeb took a good grasp on the rally victory on day two, as he claimed 5 fastest stage times, where Hirvonen managed none. At the end of the day Loeb was 15 seconds ahead of the Ford driver. Hirvonen's team mate Jari-Matti Latvala was in third, with Henning Solberg in fourth. Henning had showed some great pace in the Stobart VK Ford Focus. His brother Petter faired less well on the second day, he suffered with gearbox and engine problems and fell to sixth where he would finish the event.
Hirvonen mounted a fightback on the final day, winning four stages to Loeb's 2, but it was to no avail. Loeb closed the day out with some great pace and took the rally victory. Hirvonen claimed second, followed by Latvala, Henning Solberg, Daniel Sordo and Petter Solberg. Young Briton, and certain future star, Matthew Wilson claimed 7th in what was another composed drive by the Stobart VK driver,

Next on the International motorsport calendar is a double header of action from Curitiba in Brazil. Spanning the weekend of the 7th and 8th March 2009, both the IRC and the WTCC will be held at the location.

Results

  Rallying

    WRC

      Final Positions (Top 8)
        1. Sebastien Loeb
        2. Mikko Hirvonen
        3. Jari-Matti Latvala
        4. Henning Solberg
        5. Daniel Sordo
        6. Petter Solberg
        7. Matthew Wilson
        8. Urmo Aava

      Driver Standings
        1. Sebastian Loeb       20 Pts
        2. Mikko Hirvonen       14 Pts
        3. Daniel Sordo         12 Pts
        4. Henning Solberg      10 Pts
        5. Jari-Matti Latvala    6 Pts
        6. Chris Atkinson        4 Pts
        7. Matthew Wilson        4 Pts
        8. Sebastien Ogier       3 Pts
 
      Manufacturer Standings
        1. Citroen Total        32 Pts
        2. BP-Ford              22 Pts
        3. Stobart Ford         16 Pts
        4. Citroen Junior        8 Pts