Rally Sweden – Oliver Solberg leader concerned about WRC2

The list of WRC2 contenders was a pleasure to read at the start of the rally from Sweden. Several snow road specialists were present and a great fight was expected. Oliver Solberg, however, decided otherwise. Although he stated that he still has to learn how to handle his Toyota Yaris Rally2 and the Hankook tires, the Swede piled up the scratch times with disconcerting ease. Leader from the time trial on Thursday evening, he continued at the same pace during Friday without giving the impression of forcing. At the end of the first rotation in the special stages of the opening stage, the Nordic driver already had a 19''2 lead over the second. He seemed to be setting off at the same pace for the afternoon, but an engine problem suddenly caused confusion. Oliver limited the damage, but he still conceded a few seconds. The 45 minutes of assistance planned in the freezing night of Umeå (-10 C°) will not be too much to allow the Printsport team to give the colorful Yaris its full potential. Oliver was worried, however, because the problem appeared deep and above all unexplained. If the Swede were to withdraw, another competition would begin.

Behind Solberg, the battle was more lively with Georg Linnamäe who had started well before puncturing in SS3 following contact with a stone. The Estonian nevertheless managed to return to the podium and 2nd place is only a few seconds away. To do this, he will have to be faster than Roope Korhonen who proved to be the best of the four Finns who were hoping to trip up Solberg. The Finnish champion managed to stay ahead of his compatriots Mikko Heikkilä and Lauri Joona who were not as fast as they had hoped before the start of the race. For his part, the attraction Tuukka Kauppinen did not quite confirm his astonishing victory at the Arctic Rally. The very young driver is still feeling his way with the Hankook tires to really get involved in the fight. In the top ten, the good surprise came from Romet Jürgenson who was not ridiculous with the Ford Fiesta Rally2 that he is discovering. With 9 competitors grouped in 1'20'' behind Solberg, everything is still possible for the rest. Seven special stages are on the program for the 2nd day with 101,96 km timed.

WRC2 standings Friday evening