Norwegian driver Ostberg signs for M-Sport

Norwegian driver Mads Ostberg will be behind the wheel of M-Sport's Ford Fiesta RS for the 2013 world championship rally season after agreeing a deal with the Qatari-backed team, a team statement announced on Monday. The 25-year-old finished fourth this season behind nine-time champion Sebastien Loeb of France and in the top five during all 11 rallies he drove in this season, only missing out on the top three overall my five points behind Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala of Finland. "M-Sport is delighted to announce that Mads Ostberg and his teammate Jonas Anderson will take part in the 13 legs of the world championship," said the Ford team, who finished third in the constructors championship. Ostberg has won an impressive 15 specials and picked up his first rally win in Portugal this season as his steady rise to the top continues. "The performances of Mads have been very impressive this season. He was always very fast and his progress on asphalt as well as the maturity that he has shown displays he is set for a another step up in his career which means he is an ideal candidate for 2013," explained M-Sport boss Malcom Wilson. M-Sport also announced a new deal with their Qatari backers that are led by Nasser Al-Attiyad, who won the 2011 Paris-Dakar rally and picked up bronze in skeet at the recent London Olympics, as well as finishing 12th during the 2012 rally season at the helm of a Citroen DS3.