Evans in form in Sweden, Tänak is pushing hard

Comme au Monte-Carlo le mois précédent, Elfyn Evans (Toyota) se pose comme un des hommes les plus rapides du plateau du Championnat du monde des rallyes (WRC). The Welshman was the one and only leader of the Rally of Sweden during the four stages contested on Friday. 

More simply, it’s a very good step for Toyota Gazoo Racing. The team places three Yaris in the first four places, thanks in particular to the astonishing Kalle Rovanperä. The young man (19 years old) allowed himself to overtake the outgoing champion Ott Tänak (Hyundai) avant que ce dernier ne réplique dans l’ES5.

We must also credit the Estonian with great talent, because he is one of the last WRCs to start the specials. The terrain, mostly lacking ice and snow, was already beginning to deteriorate. 

Kalle Rovanperä, however, does not feel that his duty has been accomplished. The son of Harri, winner of the 2001 edition with Peugeot , lost precious seconds during a stall in the brief SS5 at the end of the day.

French Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) holds fourth place, but will have to watch the return of Esapekka Lappi (Ford). The Gapençais is still more comfortable than Thierry Neuville (Hyundai). The Belgian has continued to lose places and even finds himself under threat from his teammate Craig Breen in sixth place. The winner of Monte-Carlo 2020 would even have finished the day behind the Irishman if the latter had not deliberately slowed down on SS5.

Back with his own structure, Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) has already lost more than two minutes due to a spin and a problem with engine shutdowns. The veteran preferred to stay at the service park after midday and hopes to leave on Saturday morning. 

In WRC2, Mads Ostberg (Citroën) took over the torch carried by his compatriot Ole Christian Veiby in SS2. The Norwegian is more than 40” ahead of the Frenchman Adrien fourmaux (4th), who made a mistake in SS4. 

Meet at 8:40 a.m. Saturday morning to follow the second stage of the 2020 Swedish Rally with us with live text from AUTOhebdo.com.

2020 Rally Sweden standings after SS5: