20h
The final stage of Rally Sweden will feature two passes of Likenas (21,19km) before as well as a new pass through Torsby (9,56km) which will end in the Power Stage. The day will start at 7:50 a.m. The last ES will be followed live with our live text.
20h
Takamoto Katsuta (Ford) retains the lead of WRC 2 with a dozen seconds ahead of Pontus Tidemand (Skoda). The Swede remains under pressure from Ole Veiby (Skoda). Among the R5s, World RX champion Johan Kristoffersson (Skoda) is in sixth place.
20h
Neuville: “It was a long day with a lot of liaisons but we got through it so far. The team did a good job on the car. I don't feel under pressure. I feel like I have the pace to manage my lead and I will definitely slow down a bit tomorrow. »
20h
Mikkelsen: “I'm not too happy because I made a mistake which dropped me to 3rd place. Everything remains possible for the Power Stage. »
20h
Breen: “We can already be satisfied with this 2nd place. We'll see what we can do tomorrow. It's a pleasure to ride here. »
20h
Lappi: “It was a good day with regular performances in the Top 5. This is what I wanted to do even if you never know what it will be like with the positions on the road. I will obviously try to get back Ostberg tomorrow, it's a good thing the last stage isn't boring. »
20h
Latvala: “The car was very difficult to drive. We expected a difficult day and it was. We are now focusing on the Power Stage. »
20h
Tänak: “Kris (Meeke) had problems with his car (in SS13). I saw him pull away, I hesitated to pass him and there was an incident when I came up to him. It was a long day. We could try something in the Power Stage but we'll have to be smart. »
19h
Ogier: “I can be satisfied with what I did behind the wheel. I didn't make any mistakes and adapted to the conditions. I couldn't do anything with my position. You just have to see where the Top 3 in the Championship are. There is not much to do in terms of settings in this case. I don't think about my preferable position in Mexico because it doesn't have to work that way. The Power Stage is the only hope for this weekend. I didn't come to Sweden for this type of race. I am a competitor. Toçp 3 is set aside this weekend. »
19h
Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) concluded the second stage of the Swedish Rally in style after setting a new scratch in SS16 at Torsby Sprint. With a time of 2'32"7, the leader of the event further increased his lead by three seconds against Craig Breen (Citroën). Hayden Paddon (Hyundai) gave up around eight seconds after making too much contact with a wall of snow. Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport) set the seventh fastest time, almost three seconds behind the benchmark.
Thierry Neuville returns to service with a 22”7 lead over Craig Breen. Andreas Mikkelsen (Hyundai) remains a little over nine seconds behind the first Citroën but he made the difference against his teammate Hayden Paddon who is now more than 16 seconds behind and who finds himself under threat from Mads Ostberg (Citroën ) eight seconds from fourth position. Esapekka Lappi (Toyota) remains sixth ahead of his teammate Jari-Matti Latvala, Teemu Suninen (M-Sport), Ott Tânak (Toyota) and the Fords of Sébastienb Ogier and Elfyn Evans.
O/A after SS15 – And of the Day 21. Neuville 2. Breen +22.73. Mikkelsen +324. Paddon +48.65. Ostberg +56.86. Lappi +1m05.87. Latvala +2m03.38. Suninen +2m20.59. Tanak +3m41.310. Ogier +4m24.9#WRC #RallySweden pic.twitter.com/9mgCGCe63Y
— Michelin Motorsport (@Michelin_Sport) 17th February 2018
19h
Neuville takes a new scratch with a half-second lead over Lappi. By taking another 3 seconds from Breen, the Belgian finished the day 22″7 ahead of the Citroën driver.
19h
Paddon lost time after making too much contact with a wall of snow at the start of the special.
19h
Good time from Mikkelsen who finished 2 tenths behind Lappi. The Hyundai driver occupies 3rd place and distances his teammate Paddon who is now 16s behind.
19h
Paddon's poor performance allows Ostberg to come back to just over 8s from 4th place.
19h
Paddon is the slowest. The Hyundai driver finished 8″2 off the provisional scratch while he is in the fight for the podium.
19h
Breen only signs the 6th beat, 2″5 from the reference. The Citroën driver remains the leader Neuville's closest opponent.
19h
Otsberg only lost 3 tenths to Lappi and thus retained a 9s lead in the general classification over the Toyota driver.
19h
Suninen sets the 3rd time, 2 seconds behind Lappi. The M-Sport driver is in 8th place, still more than 17 seconds behind Latvala.
19h
Lappi improves the benchmark by half a second against his teammate Tänak. The Toyota driver is still chasing 5th place occupied by Ostberg.
19h
Latvala sets the 3rd time, 2″6 behind his teammate Tänak. The Finn occupies 7th position.
