Marcus Gronholm received the perfect birthday present today when he held off Sebastien Loeb to win the Swedish Rally and extend his lead in the world championship.
The Ford driver, who won the first round in Monte Carlo two weeks ago, led from start to finish in Sweden, despite a valiant effort from Citroen rival Loeb.
Gronholm won the final three stages to finish with a comfortable half-minute advantage, stretching his championship lead over Loeb to four points.
The two title contenders were in a league of their own as the rest of the pack squabbled for minor positions well adrift of the leaders.
Daniel Carlsson came out on top of a close battle with fellow Mitsubishi driver Gianluigi Galli to steal third place on the final day.
Thomas Radstrom, driving a Subaru, was fifth while Ford driver Kosti Katajamaki took sixth. Xavier Pons was seventh with Henning Solberg's OMV Peugeot eighth.
Solberg's brother Petter, a former world champion, completed a miserable rally by being disqualified on the penultimate stage.
The Subaru driver was out of contention following mechanical problems and a time penalty on Friday but was removed from the results altogether after a push start to stage 18.
