Ford’s motorsports ventures stretch beyond Mustangs on the race track, drag strip, and maybe soon the oval track. Alas, the Mustang is not the star of a sport where Ford has had some great success in recent years. We mean of course rally racing. Ford debuted all new Fiesta rally cars for the 2011 season, and to the surprise of many (but not us) the Ford Fiestas took home the 1-2-3 finish.

The Swedish Rally is the traditional opening bout in the 13-race World Rally Championship. Recent changes include smaller engines (from 2.0 liters to 1.6 liters) and for Ford, new all-wheel drive Fiestas. Leading the trifecta of victorious Fiestas was Mikko Hirvonen, who took first place during the second day over Mads Ostberg, who finished 6.5 seconds behind Mikko. 34 seconds behind Ostberg Jari-Matti Latvala, giving Ford the perfect finish.

There were other Ford WRC drivers in the race, including the infamous Ken Block who managed to finish only 14^th. But at least he finished.  While not quite reminiscent of the 1-2-3 finish of the Ford GT-40 over Ferrari, we’ll take a Blue Oval victory any day. Of course there are still a dozen races left in the series, and Ford can’t rest on its laurels. We’re hoping the Gymkhana champion will put on a good showing at some point this year too. There’s nothing quite like a World Rally race, and it really does push men to the very brink of doom all in the name of motorsport. That’s what it’s so awesome.