M-Sport had a challenging time of it at Rally Sweden.

Charged with sweeping a clean line through the fresh snow, the Cumbrian team were at the mercy of the conditions and unable to channel the true performance of the EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta WRC.

Only two M-Sport teams finished in the top 10 of the overall standings. Teemu Suninen came eighth and Sébastien Ogier finished 10th.

Malcolm Wilson, M-Sport’s team principal, said: “We knew that this event would be difficult, especially if there was fresh snow on Friday, but we faced a bigger disadvantage than I think any of us had expected.

“If you look at who succeeded at Rallye Monte-Carlo and who struggled here, it’s clear that our pace this weekend was down to the conditions and little to do with the cars or the drivers.

“There’s nothing anyone could do about it, and the organisers put on another fantastic event with a great fight at the front, but we had no chance of making an impact and challenging for a strong result ourselves.”

But there were still plenty of Fiesta drivers enjoying the taste of champagne, Takamoto Katsuta piloting his Ford Fiesta R5 to victory in the RC2 class and WRC2 category.

Meanwhile, Sweden’s Dennis Radstrom delivered a popular home win behind the wheel of his Ford Fiesta R2 in the RC4 class and FIA Junior World Rally Championship.

“I must also send my congratulations to Takamoto and Dennis,” Cumbrian Wilson added.

“The main team might not have been able to challenge for victory this weekend, but these two youngsters ensured that there were still plenty of Fiesta drivers enjoying the taste of champagne here in Sweden.

“Hailing from the host town of Torsby, I know that Dennis’ victory will mean a lot to him. And Takamoto has been superb.

“He’s the first Japanese driver to win a WRC2 round, and it’s great to see him secure such a landmark victory with the Fiesta.”