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Tag: Rally Sweden
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All set for 2024 FIA Junior WRC – Rally Sweden
Umea (Sweden), 14 February 2024: The eagerly awaited 2024 FIA Junior WRC season kicks off this week at the legendary Rally Sweden (15 – February).
Based out of the university city of Umeå, Rally Sweden welcomes the largest FIA Junior WRC line-up in two decades, with a record-breaking 19 crews registered for round one. They will pilot identical Ford Fiesta Rally3 Evos, exclusively equipped with Pirelli tyres and Wolf Lubricants, through the frozen forests of the Västerbotten region.
As the only pure snow and ice fixture on the FIA World Rally Championship calendar, Rally Sweden presents the ultimate winter challenge. Studded tyres are essential and provide remarkable grip as drivers ‘lean’ their cars against the snowbanks at ultra-high speeds.
Diego Domínguez finished as last year’s championship runner-up, and the Paraguayan will be aiming to put all of his past experience to good use in pursuit of the top spot. Other returnees include Eamonn Kelly, Roberto Blach and Tom Rensonnet.
However, the 13 Junior WRC newcomers will be hot on their heels, with hotshots including Romet Jürgenson, Bruno Bulacia, Norbert Maior and Mille Johansson all eager to prove themselves on the global stage.
Crews will have to be on form from the outset. ‘Wolf Stage Wins’ mean a single championship point is awarded for every stage victory throughout 2024 as the drivers fight for a life-changing prize which includes an arrive-and-drive package to contest four European rounds of the 2025 WRC in an M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2 car.
Also up for grabs this season is the ‘Craig Breen Spirit of Rallying Award’, named after the 2011 champion who tragically passed away last year. At the season’s conclusion, an independent judging panel will select the recipient based on who they feel best epitomises the never-give-up attitude and passion for the sport that Breen was universally admired for.
The rally begins on Thursday afternoon and includes 18 special stages totalling more than 300km before Sunday afternoon’s finish.
Maciej Woda, FIA Junior WRC Championship Manager, said: “Rally Sweden is a truly magical event on a surface which every rally driver must master if they are to progress to the top echelons of the sport. Add to that the huge field of M-Sport Poland-built Ford Fiesta Rally3 Evo cars, and I think we’ve got all the ingredients for a very, very exciting week.
“Predicting a winner from the 19-car entry is an impossible task, but I can’t wait to see the battles unfold out on the stages. Above all, I hope that every crew enjoys their experience of this extraordinary rally.”
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Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT crew Ott Tanak, Martin Jarveoja clinch victory: WRC Rally Sweden
Tanak, Jarveoja celebrate after winning Rally Sweden on Sunday. An FIA image Torsby, 17 Feb 2019: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT crew Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja clinched victory on the FIA World Rally Championship’s second round, Rally Sweden, which promoted them to the overall championship lead for the first time in their career. Fending off the assaults from Jari-Matti Latvala and Teemu Suninen early in the rally, Tänak went on to dominate the event, winning by 53.7s over Citroen Total WRT crew Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm. Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT pair Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul finished 3 seconds only behind Lappi in third place, their third career podium in Sweden, and remain second in the championship standings after two events.
Sunday began with two runs through the 21.19km Likenäs test, which showcased typical Rally Sweden conditions with a proper covering of snow and ice providing good grip for the rally cars. The “Torsby” special stage, host of the Power Stage and used twice previously, presented however different road conditions as the gravel underneath the surface had been exposed.
Rally leader Tänak took a careful approach to the opening two stages, saving his tyres for the Power Stage and its bonus points. His strategy paid off as he dominated the Torsby test by going 3.5s faster than Neuville to score maximum points.
Behind Tänak, Andreas Mikkelsen had started the rally’s final day in second place, tied with Lappi, but the Norwegian struggled in the first pass of Likenäs with his set of used Michelin tyres. He set only the 10th fastest time and dropped behind both Lappi and Neuville.
Lappi slightly increased his gap over third-placed Neuville through both passes of Likenäs but drove conservatively on the Power Stage. The Citroën driver secured second by three seconds overall.
Despite missing out the second place, there was consolation for Neuville as the Belgian collected four valuable bonus points for the FIA World Championship by setting the second-fastest time in the Power Stage. Lappi also picked up one bonus point with the fifth fastest time, just behind Sébastien Ogier, who scored two bonus points as the fourth-fastest driver.
Mikkelsen held on to fourth but a stage win on the second pass of Likenäs by M-Sport’s Elyn Evans put the Hyundai driver under pressure for the Power Stage. Mikkelsen dropped 11.6s on Sunday to finish only 2.8s ahead of his Welsh rival. Fifth-placed Evans was also able to score three bonus points with a third-fastest time through the Torsby Power Stage.
A tense battle for sixth place was expected on Sunday, with Kris Meeke and Sébastien Loeb separated by only 1.6s overnight. In the end, the French did not manage to dominate, dropping five seconds to Meeke on the first pass of Likenäs and eventually finishing 10.9s behind him in seventh place.
Pontus Tidemand ended his home event – the second with the M-Sport Ford WRT team – in eighth, 1m48s behind Loeb, but still scoring valuable manufacturers’ points for the British team.
Ole Christian Veiby picked up ninth place overall in addition to an impressive FIA WRC 2 victory. He had been under pressure on Saturday from Jari Huttunen but won comfortably in the end, as his Finnish rival went off into a snowbank on the second run of Likenäs and retired. Emil Lindholm took second place in the category, 16.1s ahead of FIA World Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson.
Former Škoda and M-Sport factory driver Janne Tuohino completed the Top 10 overall, nearly 13 years from his last appearance in the FIA World Rally Championship.
Mads Ostberg took the FIA WRC 2 Pro victory for Citroën Total, finishing over three minutes ahead of Škoda Motorsport factory driver Kalle Rovanpera, while Gus Greensmith took third place for M-Sport.
Swedish yougster Tom Kristensson won the FIA Junior World Rally Championship’s inaugural event, finishing his home round 1m31.2s ahead of Estonia’s Roland Poom in second. Jan Solans completed the podium, with all drivers competing in an identical M-Sport-run Ford Fiesta R2s.
Rally Sweden – Final unofficial results (subject to scrutineering)
1 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 2hr47min30.0sec 2 Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm Citroen C3 WRC 2hr48min23.7sec 3 Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2hr48min26.7sec 4 Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jǽger Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2hr48min35.4sec 5 Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin Ford Fiesta WRC 2hr48min38.2sec 6 Kris Meeke / Sebastian Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC 2hr49min08.8sec 7 Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2hr49min19.7sec 8 Pontus Tidemand / Ola Floene Ford Fiesta WRC 2hr51min07.7sec 9 Ole Christian Veiby / Jonas Andersson Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 2hr54min04.0sec 10 Janne Tuohino / Mikko Markkula Ford Fiesta WRC 2hr55min51.4sec -
Thierry Neuville, Sebastien Ogier resume their battle with opening Super Special Stage: WRC
Thierry Neuville tops the opening Super Special Stage on Thursday. An FIA image Karlstad, 15 Feb 2019: Thierry Neuville and Sébastien Ogier resumed their battle where they left off on Rallye Monte-Carlo: the pair separated by 0.8s after Rally Sweden’s short opening superspecial in Karlstad in first and second place. Neuville’s team-mate at Hyundai, Andreas Mikkelsen, is only 0.3s behind in third on Thursday night.
Wet and slushy road conditions welcomed the drivers on Karlstad’s 1.9km superspecial, causing quickly forming ruts on the arena’s surface. Ogier went wide with his Citroen in the last corner on the outside loop, a fate that befell several drivers in this section of the track. Ott Tänak, third on the Rallye Monte-Carlo podium, was not one of them, and finished fourth fastest, 1.9s behind Neuville.
Finnish drivers dominated the bottom half of the Top 10. In his 197th start in the series, Jari-Matti Latvala marked a momentous occasion, going fifth fastest. Teemu Suninen and Esapekka Lappi were next for M-Sport and Citroen in sixth and seventh respectively, while two-time FIA World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm marked his one-off return after nine years away from the WRC with the eighth fastest time, at the wheel of a private team entry Toyota Yaris WRC.
Ahead of several WRC’s top drivers, FIA WRC 2 Pro leader Eerik Pietarinen navigated his factory Skoda Fabia R5 to ninth quickest overnight, tied with Toyota’s Kris Meeke and FIA WRC 2 pilot Jari Huttunen.
This meant several factory WRC drivers were outside the Top 10: Elfyn Evans, Pontus Tidemand and nine-time world champion Sébastien Loeb, all within six seconds of stage winner Neuville.
Rallye Sweden – Unofficial results after Section 1
1 Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1min 34.9sec 2 Sebastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia Citroen C3 WRC 1min 35.7sec 3 Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jǽger Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1min 36.0sec 4 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 1min 36.8sec 5 Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 1min 36.9sec 6 Teemu Suninen / Marko Salminen Ford Fiesta WRC 1min 37.6sec 7 Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm Citroen C3 WRC 1min 37.9sec 8 Marcus Gronhölm / Timo Rautiainen Toyota Yaris WRC 1min 39.0sec 9 Kris Meeke / Sebastian Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC 1min 39.3sec 10 Eerik Pietarinen / Juhana Raitanen Škoda Fabia R5 1min 39.3sec -
The only snow-and-ice event of WRC begins Thursday: Rally Sweden
Rally Sweden begins on Thursday. An FIA imageTorsby (Norway), 12 Feb 2019: The FIA World Rally Championship resumes with Rally Sweden from February 14 to 17, the only full snow-and-ice event of the year. The stages showcase a winter wonderland spanning two countries – Sweden and Norway – with the drivers using special studded tyres designed to cut through the snow and bite into the more solid surface underneath. The result is a surprising amount of grip and average speeds tend to be high. There are also special technics for driving on snow: the competitors use the big snowbanks that line the roads to lean on and guide the cars through the corners as fast as possible.
With three different manufacturers in the Top 3 at the end of the season’s inaugural event in Monte-Carlo, the high level of competition and unpredictability of the championship is clear to see. Reigning FIA World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier leads the standings after taking the win for Citroën, but he is closely followed by his main title rivals from last year: Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) and Ott Tanäk (Toyota). M-Sport Ford will pin their hopes on Sweden’s own Pontus Tidemand, former FIA WRC 2 champion, who will start only his second rally at the wheel of the Ford Fiesta WRC. The battle on the snow-laden Scandinavian roads looks set to produce another thrilling leg, where the start position is likely to have an influence: the first drivers in the order may face the challenge of fresh snow, while those further down could benefit from a cleaner surface and more grip.
One of the biggest motorsports stars in Sweden – Marcus Gronhölm – makes a one-off return. The Finn, FIA World Rally Champion in 2000 and 2002, who retired at the end of 2007, will be back at the wheel of a Toyota Yaris WRC, co-driven by his loyal navigator Timo Rautiainen. And another legendary pair will also try to demonstrate that they lost none of their skills on snow and ice: 9-time FIA World Rally Champions Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena. Rally Sweden will be their second outing on Rally Sweden of six this season in the Hyundai.
Alongside the strong contingent of FIA WRC 2 entrants, the new FIA WRC 2 Pro category will stage its second leg in Sweden, with local hero Mads Østberg from Norway driving the Citroen C3 R5. A brand new turbocharged R2T Ford Fiesta will be revealed at the FIA Junior World Rally Championship season’s launch event with thirteen youngsters entered for Sweden, the first rally in a five-round calendar that continues in Corsica, Sardinia, Finland and Great-Britain.
THE 2019 ROUTE
There are no significant changes in the 2019 Rally Sweden itinerary compared to last year. The city of Torsby, close to the Norwegian border, is the rally base once more but the rally will start with a Super Special Stage (SSS) in Karlstad, further south, which traditionally kicks off the action on Thursday night. The same stage is repeated at the end of Saturday. Friday crosses the border into Norway, with two loops of three stages, plus a superspecial stage closing the action back in Torsby. The best-known stages, including Hagfors and Vargåsen – home of the iconic Colin’s Crest – are scheduled for Saturday, while the rally concludes on Sunday with three stages: two runs over Likenäs, followed by the Torsby Power Stage. In total, the competitive action covers 319.17 kilometres over 19 stages.
Swedish National Television SvT will feature nightly reports and highlights and all stages are available via WRC All Live on the online WRC+ platform.
RALLY DATATotal distance: 1,460.59 km Stage distance: 316.80 km (21.7%) Number of stages: 19
