Ott Tänak takes a furious group to Rally Sweden

The frosts of Rally from Sweden give balm to the heart Ott Tänak (M-Sport Ford). L’Estonien, vainqueur la semaine précédente d’une course locale en guise de préparation, a confirmé sa forme ascendante en prenant la tête de la deuxième manche du Championnat du monde des rallyes (WRC) 2023 from the first special this Friday, February 10.

4 internships behind us and we are leading @RallySweden by 2.1sec.

But now, it's time for the midday service. 🔧 #WRC #RallySweden #goOtt #TanakFanArmy #rallying #OttTanak #MartinJarveoja pic.twitter.com/5Ga5IKQfFs

— Ott Tänak (@OttTanak) February 10, 2023

Le champion du monde 2019, associé à Martin Järveoja, a su associer position de départ avantageuse et expertise de la neige et de la glace pour doubler le premier leader de la compétition, Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota). Le Finlandais a été désavantagé par un terrain manquant de verglas et de neige sur deux spéciales, ce qui l’a forcé à faire la trace sur des portions en terre dont ont bénéficié les poursuivants.

For Ott Tänak, the lead remains minimal. The leader of the clan M-Sport Ford only has a 2”1 margin over the Irishman Craig Breen (Hyundai) et 4’’1 sur Esapekka Lappi (Hyundai). “We should do better than that, believes Tänak. It's not easy at the moment, let's see what we can improve in the second pass this afternoon. »

At Hyundai Motorsport, where the new boss Cyril Abiteboul brought his first observations, we trust Craig Breen. The former M-Sport driver, who accumulated mischief in 2022, found a smile again in Sweden, notably via a scratch time in SS2.

ALSO READ > Cyril Abiteboul (Hyundai): “I want to put more discipline into the way we operate”

A sign of learning that is bearing fruit, the Japanese Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota) took the special victory in SS5. He has built up a nice lead over his supposedly more efficient teammate Elfyn Evans.

Stage win from @TakamotoKatsuta in the new Botsmark test! 🥇

Kalle just 0.3s slower and ends the morning loop only 4.7s from the lead in 4th overall, followed by Taka and Elfyn.#ToyotaGAZOORacing #GRYaris #WRC #RallySweden 🇸🇪 pic.twitter.com/6iSaFyZRXt

- TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) February 10, 2023

French speakers Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) and Pierre-Louis Loubet (M-Sport Ford) are not involved in the battle for the top 5. The Belgian is not yet in full possession of his means after falling ill during the week, and the Above all, French wants to accumulate kilometers on a surface that he knows little about.

In WRC2, outgoing champion Emil Lindholm (Skoda) lost 1'40'' following a radiator blockage by a snowdrift. Oliver Solberg (Skoda) is in the lead with the new Fabia RS Rally2.

2023 Rally Sweden standings after SS4: