Ott Tänak misses the special victory by 2 tenths! “I still don't feel completely comfortable in this car. »

Esapekka Lappi sets the 2nd time, 1″ behind Rovanperä. He is now only 9″5 ahead of the 2022 world champion.

Elfyn Evans had a second heat at high speed, and finished the special with 19″ lost on Rovanperä.

Kalle Rovanperä takes the best time with a 1″ lead. “The car is a little better than yesterday. The tires will be worn out this afternoon with road wear. »

Thierry Neuville is the first to set a fast time. “Gravel is starting to appear in some places. »

Here is the starting order for this afternoon:

Two states of mind are competing for the lead in the 2023 Rally Sweden this Saturday, February 11. On the one hand, Craig Breen (Hyundai) shows unfailing confidence. On the other hand, Ott Tänak (M-Sport) continues to be annoyed by the lack of sensations his Ford Puma hybrid gives him.

ALSO READ > Craig Breen reprimanded, but still leader in Sweden

However, the two men perform practically identical work, as evidenced by the very small gap separating them at the end of the Saturday morning loop. After 11 special stages, the Irishman is only 2”6 ahead of the 2019 world rally champion (WRC).

Second fastest on SS1 👌@OttTanak closes the gap to 🥇 (+2.6s). pic.twitter.com/klY5sOIfdx

- M-Sport (@MSportLtd) February 11, 2023

Already leader of the Swedish Rally at the end of the first stage on Friday, Craig Breen (Hyundai) first confirmed his sparkling form by gaining a lead over his rival during SS9 and SS10. But the wear of the studded tires, especially on the longest sector of the weekend, was certainly better controlled by the leader of the M-Sport Ford clan, since he went faster in SS11.

“This special went better for us, declared Ott Tänak a little more positive than usuale. The course was more technical so I was able to control the car better. »

In third place, Esapekka Lappi (Hyundai) will start to take a look behind him, because the reigning world champion Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) has started a comeback. The Finn has overtaken his teammate Elfyn Evans and is only 10 seconds behind Lappi. “ We made some new changes to the binding, and finally it was a little better, Rovanperä said. At the start I could have been better – the grip was really low and I was sliding a little too much in places. »

Happy to benefit from better settings which erased chronic understeer suffered the day before, Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) set a scratch time and had the luxury of also overtaking Elfyn Evans.

The only Frenchman registered in Rally1, Pierre-Louis Loubet (M-Sport Ford) was handicapped by a lack of power from the hybrid system and sailed alone in 7th place.

In WRC2, everything is going well for Oliver Solberg (Skoda). The Swede remains half a minute ahead of Ole Christian Veiby (Volkswagen) and almost a minute ahead of Jari Huttunen (Skoda). In WRC3, Frenchman Laurent Pellier is in second place for his discovery of ice and snow, 37 seconds behind William Creighton.

General classification after SS11:

It's cold in Sweden: -12 degrees!