Rovanperä regains control at Rally Sweden, Toyota dominates

Le Rally de Suède 2022 semble pencher en faveur du Toyota Gazoo Racing en cette deuxième étape. La première boucle réalisée ce samedi 26 février a tourné à l’avantage de Kalle Rovanperä sans l’ombre d’une contestation.

The young Finn, aged only 21, achieved his first podium in the World Rally Championship (WRC) on Swedish ice in 2020. Two years later, the Nordic has matured while preserving his peak speed. While six changes of leader occurred in the space of the first eight stages, Kalle Rovanperä continued to increase his margin in the three stages on Saturday morning.

Harri Rovanperä's son leads the way for Toyota Gazoo Racing. The Japanese brand takes its place like a parade with three GR Yaris Rally1 hybrids on the provisional podium! Elfyn Evans is only 4''8 behind, but it is Esapekka Lappi, 3rd at 12'', who impresses. The Finn had not been involved in an official team since the end of the 2019 season (Citroën) and returns to the TGR for the first time since the end of 2018!

Our crews are incredibly closely matched at #RallySweden. Watch and listen to them at work on Sweden's high-speed stages! 👀🔊#ToyotaGAZOORacing #GRYaris # Rally1 #WRC pic.twitter.com/mM63Hi6Vbs

- TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) February 26, 2022

Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) avait fini en trombe la première étape grâce à une meilleure stratégie de pneumatiques cloutés ; le Belge rentre au parc d’assistance d’Umea ce samedi midi avec moins d’énergie, la faute à une erreur de pilotage et un défaut du système hybride sur sa monture.

“I pulled straight on at the first braking of special 10he explained. Then the hybrid system slowed me down. It's strange. I couldn't reach top speed. But overall I can't match Rovanperä's speed. »

This concern recalls the damage that struck another Hyundai i20, that ofOtt Tänak. The 2019 world champion looked like he was having a bad day when the supplier of the hybrid system explained to him the cause of the problem!

ALSO READ > Tänak and Hyundai helpless victims of the hybrid

The South Korean firm will count on Oliver Solberg to score valuable points in the Manufacturers' Championship. With almost a minute left, the Swede has little hope for the rest of the rally, unless there are incidents ahead of him. Also watch out for the return of the Japanese Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota), who is only 30 seconds behind.

On the side of M-Sport Ford, Craig Breen brought a first scratch time this weekend but the Irishman no longer has any result objective due to going off the road on Friday morning. Adrien fourmaux does not make any mistakes as his boss asked him following his accident at Monte-Carlo.

Finally, outgoing WRC2 champion Andreas Mikkelsen (Skoda) leads the lower category ahead of his Norwegian compatriot Ole Christian Veiby (Volkswagen).

General classification after SS10: