10h
Katsuta remains at the top of WRC 2 with a 5″ lead over Veiby and 3″6 over Tidemand. Huttunen remains 5th at just over 4s. The 18nd category is also hotly contested!
10h
The crews are already preparing to set off in the 14,21km of Vargasen, the last ES of the morning. Henning Solberg is scheduled to start at 10:08 a.m.
09h
Craig Breen (Citroën) gets closer to the lead of the race at the Swedish Rally in SS10 at Hagfors by gaining more than four seconds from leader Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) who spun. Ott Tänak (Toyota) signed the scratch by completing the 23,4km in 12'58"2 with a little more than four seconds ahead of his teammates Jari-Matti Latvala and Esapekka Lappi. The Hyundai drivers suffered on this course as Hayden Paddon finished a tenth behind the Belgian while Andreas Mikkelsen dropped around 14 seconds to the Irishman after also spinning after hitting a wall of snow.
Thierry Neuville retains the lead of the Swedish Rally but he only has a 4" lead over Craig Breen who climbs to second place with around ten seconds ahead of Hayden Paddon and Andreas Mikkelsen grouped in two tenths. Mads Ostberg (Citroën) also threatens the i2 WRC by being two seconds behind his compatriot. Esapekka Lappi (Toyota) is sixth ahead of his teammate Jari-Matti Latvala who gains a place ahead of Teemu Suninen (M-Sport) now a dozen seconds behind his compatriot and threatened by Ott Tänak (Toyota). Kris Meeke (Citroën) completes the top ten with more than a minute ahead of Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport) who overtook his teammate Elfyn Evans with just under three seconds ahead.
O/A after SS101. Neuville2. Breen +4.23. Paddon +14.24. Mikkelsen +14.45. Ostberg +16.66. Lappi +32.97. Latvala +588. Suninen +1m10.39. Tanak +1m11.910. Meeke +1m49.911. Ogier +3m01.9#WRC #RallySweden pic.twitter.com/aIadjhBPbn
— Michelin Motorsport (@Michelin_Sport) 17th February 2018
09h
Mikkelsen confirmed that he had spun and hit a wall of snow. “I lost about 15 seconds. I had to reverse after hitting the wall of snow. »
09h
Neuville is also further behind with the 7th fastest time, 9″3 from the scratch. By dropping more than 4s to Breen, the Belgian now only has a 4” lead over the Citroën driver. “The transmission works, we were able to repair it. I lost time due to a spin. I'm sure it was Andreas who hit an embankment and put lots of snow on the road. »
09h
Mikkelsen was behind by only setting the 10th time, almost 14 seconds behind Breen. The Norwegian fell to 4th place, 2 tenths behind his teammate Paddon while Breen became Neuville's closest opponent.
09h
Paddon finished in 7th place, dropping another almost 5 seconds to Breen. The New Zealander finds himself 10 seconds off the provisional podium. “There is still a long way to go. I have to get my bearings on the car after the set-up changes. »
09h
Breen sets the 4th time, 4″7 behind the provisional benchmark set by Tänak. The Citroën driver is fighting for the lead in the race. “I have a good feeling with the car. I try to attack. »
09h
Ostberg finished in 5th place, 4″3 behind Lappi. The Citroën driver remains 5th with another 16 seconds ahead of the Finn.
09h
Suninen is further behind after spinning. The M-Sport driver finished in 7th place, more than half a minute behind Latvala. “I hit an embankment, it sent me spinning. » The M-Sport driver lost another position, finding himself 12s behind Latvala.
09h
Lappi sets the 3rd time, one tenth behind his teammate Latvala. The Toyota driver is threatened by Suninen. “I was too careful. I try to avoid embankments when I should rather use them. »
09h
Latvala drops 4″3 and only has a 14s lead over his teammate Tänak. “Ott is really fast at the moment. I have to see what I can do. »
09h
Tänak is still on a good pace. The Toyota driver improves Meeeke’s time by 7″8. The Estonian remains 9th chasing his teammate Latvala. “It wasn't as good as the previous stage, but the conditions were still good. »
09h
Meeke improves the reference time by 3″8. The Citroën driver remains isolated in 10th place. “I try to enjoy it by staying on the road. »
09h
Evans drops 6″3 to Ogier. The Welshman slips to 12th place, 2″8 behind the Frenchman. “We made a lot of changes to the car and I have to get used to them. »
09h
Ogier improves Henning Solberg's performance by more than 35 seconds. The Frenchman is fighting to regain 11th place from his teammate Evans. “The stage was narrow. We didn't have any problems. Tell me, what can I hope for today? »
09h
Henning Solberg sets a first time in 13'44"9.
09h
Solberg took the start of SS10.
09h
The crews will now head to the 23,4km Hagfors special which will be contested from 9:12 a.m. This is the longest special of the day. Henning Solberg is already waiting to start.
