Mads Ostberg stands out at shakedown

While he was absent from Monte-Carlo, Mads Ostberg (Ford) distinguished himself by being the fastest in the shakedown of the Rally from Sweden. The private pilot set the best time during his 3rd and final pass by completing the 7,23km of Skalla in 4'11''6 with a tenth ahead of Craig Breen which now evolves on the Citroën C3 WRC after driving the DS 3 WRC during the Monaco event.

Hayden Paddon (Hyundai) a complété le tiercé de tête à une demi-seconde de la référence en devançant d’un dixième la C3 WRC de Kris Meeke. Dani Sordo (Hyundai) complète le top cinq devant son coéquipier Thierry Neuville. Elfyn Evans (Ford) follows in 8th place ahead Ott Tänak (Ford) et Stéphane Lefebvre (DS 3) à égalité. Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) complète le top dix à près de 5s de la référence, tandis que son coéquipier Juho Hänninen (Toyota) ne s’est classé que 15e derrière plusieurs R5, la première étant la Fiesta de Henning Solberg, 11e du classement général.

Sébastien Ogier (Ford), the winner of the Monte-Carlo Rally, remained very discreet by only setting the 16th fastest time of the session. Most drivers adopted a cautious pace in order to conserve their studded tires.

The Rally Sweden will begin this evening at 20:08 p.m. with the 1,9km Karlstadt super special. SS1 will be broadcast on L’Équipe 21.

Rally Sweden shakedown results

1 Ostberg 4:11.6
2 Breen 4:11.7
3 Paddon 4:12.1
4 Meek 4:12.2
5 Sordo 4:14.0
6 Neuville 4:14.5
7 Evans 4:15.1
8 Lefebvre and Tänak 4:16.1
10 Latvala 4:16.2
16 Ogier 4:29.9