Rally Sweden 2019
16h
The crews are now preparing for the 8,93km Torsby special which should start at 17:14 p.m.
16h
Veiby remains at the top of WRC 2 in 12th place overall with around 47 seconds ahead of Ostberg, leader of WRC 2 Pro.
16h
Elfyn Evans (M-Sport) took the scratch in the second pass of Röjden, the 7th SS of the Swedish Rally, completing the 18,1km in 8’41”7. The Welshman was more than 4 seconds ahead of Sébastien Loeb (Hyundai) and Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota). Teemu Suninen (M-Sport) followed 5 seconds ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen (Hyundai).
Ott Tänak (Toyota) was further behind, clocking in around ten seconds from the benchmark. The Estonian preceded Esapekka Lappi (Citroën) and Pontus Tidemand (M-Sport).
Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) suffers from his opening position and is ranked almost 15 seconds behind Elfyn Evans. The Belgian was more than 4 seconds ahead of Kris Meeke (Toyota).
Teemu Suninen remains in the lead of Rally Sweden with a 5-second lead over Jari-Matti Latvala. Ott Tänak is now 8 seconds behind his teammate. Andreas Mikkelsen remains 4th with less than 8 seconds ahead of Elfyn Evans who climbs into the Top 5. Sébastien Loeb gains 3 positions ahead of Kris Meeke by a little over a second. Thierry Neuville and Esapekka Lappi follow just behind. Pontus Tidemand completes the Top 10.
16h
Evans takes the scratch with a 4″4 lead over Loeb and Latvala. The M-Sport driver climbs into the Top 5, coming back to less than 8 seconds from Mikkelsen.
16h
Lappi signs the 6th fastest time, 6″5 behind the provisional scratch of Loeb and Latvala. " I do what I can. It's part of the game. We attack and expose ourselves to hitting walls of snow. Unfortunately, I paid the price today. » The Citroën driver is one second behind Neuville in 7th position.
16h
Tidemand signs the 5th time almost 9s from the reference. The M-Sport driver should remain isolated in 10th place. “The roads are amazing like this car. I just have to concentrate. »
16h
Suninen drops 7 small tenths to Latvala who is back to 5 seconds from the lead of the race. “It’s good to stay ahead. I was a little cautious here. You have to think about finishing. »
16h
Images of the day from Toyota:
Plenty of action and really rough conditions today.Check out the best action footage from today. #TOYOTA #YarisWRC #RallySweden #WRC #TGR_WRC #Rallying pic.twitter.com/76QnIYsHjI
— TGR World Rally Team (@TGR_WRC) 15th February 2019
16h
Latvala equalizes Loeb's time. The Toyota driver is fighting to regain the lead of the rally against Suninen. “I did my best and I don’t think I could have done better because the SS was quite tough. I'm happy with my pace. »
16h
And Loeb takes the provisional scratch with a 5″7 lead over Tänak. The Hyundai driver gains at least 2 positions against Meeke and Neuville. “I attacked hard in this one. We are fighting for position on the road tomorrow and the car is performing well. »
16h
Tänak improves Neuville’s time by 4″7. The Toyota driver is looking to stay in contact with the lead of the race. “I don’t know how much Ogier dropping out complicates things for us, but it sure is difficult. The tires hold up well. »
16h
Loeb is still the fastest in the 2nd sector with a second ahead of Tänak.
16h
Neuville sets a time of 8’56”5. “It’s hot,” sums up the Belgian to his co-driver Gilsoul. The Hyundai driver is ranked 7th. “It’s very hard, especially since I have to open the road now. With the damage to the car, it’s even more complicated. We are getting hot with the conditions becoming muddy. »
16h
Meeke is now almost 6s behind Tänak in the 2nd intermediate.
16h
Loeb is now the fastest in the first split with just a tenth ahead of Tänak.
16h
Tänak now has a 2″ lead over Neuville in the 4nd intermediate position.
16h
Neuville has a good pace since Tänak is only one second ahead of him in the first split. Meeke charges more than 4s on his teammate in the same place.
16h
Neuville sets off in the penultimate special stage of the day. Tänak was the fastest in the first pass in 8’42″5. Gilsoul told his pilot that he had to be careful of the melted snow water present in the trajectories.
16h
The crews are already preparing to compete in the 18,1km Röjden special. Neuville should open the road any second.
