WRC – Ogier and Volkswagen already winners in Sweden

Sébastien Ogier was imperial during the three stages of the Rally of Sweden which he dominated head and shoulders. After taking pole for the qualifying special, the Volkswagen driver took advantage of an advantageous position on the road to widen his lead over his pursuers. After securing the points for second place in Monte-Carlo behind Sébastien Loeb, the Frenchman takes his revenge by winning his duel against the Alsatian who finishes 43 seconds behind the Polo R WRC. The winner of the Swedish event accumulates points in the Championship by also winning the bonus points from the Power Stage which allow him to rise to the new leader of the Drivers' classification.

Sébastien Loeb nevertheless did his best to put pressure on his former teammate, but the Citroën driver had to let go towards the end of the rally, the gap having become too significant. The Alsatian still saves the furniture at Citroën Racing after a disastrous weekend for his teammates. Mikko Hirvonen could no longer compete for the top ten places on the first stage after losing precious time in a wall of snow. Dani Sordo was in eighth place in the final stage before retiring after going off the road.

The podium at Rally Sweden looks great as third place is taken by the Qatar WRT Ford Fiesta RS WRC driven by Mads Ostberg. After losing time on the first day, the Norwegian made a superb comeback by managing to catch Jari-Matti Latvala and resisting the Finn's attacks in the final stage. The Norwegian won an additional point at the end of the Power Stage while the second Volkswagen driver gained two more points allowing him to console himself for his fourth place with which he failed just six seconds from the podium.

Thierry Neuville achieved a very good result with fifth place ahead of his teammate Juho Hänninen. Consistent in his times, the Belgian did not make a single mistake and turned the page on his poor start to the season in Monte-Carlo. The Qatar WRT driver took advantage of Evgeny Novikov's crash in the final stage to gain a position. The Russian managed to salvage a ninth place finish behind the Fiesta RS WRC of Martin Prokop and Henning Solberg who recovered to eighth position after experiencing alternator problems requiring repairs.

Yazeed Al Rajhi completes the top ten in his Fiesta RRC and wins the WRC2 category after a very good fight with Anders Grondal. The driver of the Subaru Impreza secures second place ahead of the Skoda Fabia S2000 R of Sepp Wiegand.

Sébastien Ogier already has a good lead over his opponents in the Championship. With a second place in Monte-Carlo and a victory in Sweden (+ three bonus points with the Power Stage), the Volkswagen driver has 46 points in the Drivers' standings, three points ahead of Sébastien Loeb. With the Alsatian not playing the entire season, the winner's direct competitor in Sweden is Mads Ostberg who is already 22 points behind. The retirement of Dani Sordo leaves the Spaniard with 15 units and fourth place in the standings. Conversely, Jari-Matti Latvala moved up to fifth place with 14 points (two points in the Power Stage in Sweden) after his retirement in Monte-Carlo. Mikko Hirvonen finds himself sixth following his scoreless weekend. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT narrowly remains in the lead in the Manufacturers' Championship. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Sébastien Loeb saved the furniture at Citroën Racing, the nine-time world champion securing second place behind Sébastien Ogier while Mikko Hirvonen finished far from the top ten. However, the Finn still managed to grab two points which allowed the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT to remain at the top of the Manufacturers' Championship with two points ahead of Volkswagen Motorsport. Qatar M-Sport WRT follows in third position with 26 units from the manufacturer at Chevrons.

Discover the analysis of the Swedish Rally carried out by our special correspondents in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday in digital version for iPad, PC and Mac, and from Wednesday on newsstands.