Rally Sweden 2023
08h
SS9 ranking:
General classification after SS9:
08h
He has already won in Sweden, but the 2023 edition did not smile on Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) on the first stage. The Belgian made modifications to his i20 hybrid and it paid off, as he set the scratch time for this SS9, the first of this second stage.
“It's better with all the aero elements on the car,” he explained, referring to his damaged front bumpers the day before. Yet I lack confidence with braking, I can't find the right balance, I brake too early, all the time. »
Craig Breen (Hyundai) significantly increased his lead at the top of the Rally Sweden, with a margin of 4”6 over Ott Tänak (M-Sport Ford) and 12”8 over Esapekka Lappi (Hyundai).
08h
Craig Breen only lost 1″4 on Neuville, and above all, he gained 1″5 from Tänak!
08h
Ott Tänak drops 3″4. “It's difficult, I think we need to be better connected, between me and the car. »
08h
Esapekka Lappi loses 3″0.
08h
Elfyn Evans drops 2″9.
08h
Kalle Rovanperä finished with the 2nd time, 1″1 behind Neuville. “It’s not great. I lost a lot of top speed, I changed settings on the car last night. »
08h
Thierry Neuville takes the best time with a margin of 4″5 over Takamoto Katsuta. “It's better with all the aero elements on the car! Yet I lack confidence with braking, I can't find the right balance, I brake too early, all the time. »
08h
This special is of little interest on a technical level. Cars most often go at full speed and rarely brake.
08h
Here is the starting order for the day:
08h
It's cold in Sweden! – 9 degrees and a light wind on this ES.
08h
Here is the program for the day:
SS9 08:05 Norrby 1 12,54 km
SS10 08:56 Floda 1 28,25 km
SS11 10:41 a.m. Sävar 1 17,28 km
Support
SS12 14:05 Norrby 2 12,54 km
SS13 14:56 Floda 2 28,25 km
SS14 16:41 a.m. Sävar 2 17,28 km
SS15 18:05 p.m. Umea 1 10,08 km
07h
Hello to all enthusiasts following this second stage of the 2023 Rally Sweden! We used to write information recently about Craig Breen (Hyundai) when he made driving mistakes. But the Irish driver demonstrated a much better side of his talent by dominating the first stage of the Rally de Sweden 2023, contested this Friday February 10.
ALSO READ > Cyril Abiteboul (Hyundai): “I want to put more discipline into the way we operate”
The Hyundai Motorsport driver was undoubtedly the most impressive of all on a terrain where the ice and snow sometimes gave way to dirt, causing wear on the studded tires. Certainly, the former M-Sport and Citroën driver benefited from a better starting position, but above all he faced an Ott Tänak (M-Sport Ford) who was as revved up as ever!
“I had a perfect starting position, of course, and we tried to make the most of it, declares the man who had not led a WRC round since New Zealand in 2022. I have almost as much fun as in historic races! »
The Estonian signed his first scratch time for Malcolm Wilson's team in 2023 and led the competition for a while, before the last specials contested at night in Sweden. The 2019 World Rally Champion (WRC) is only a handful of seconds behind Craig Breen, but his attitude was half-baked.
"It's much better than we expected, said Ott Tänak. In terms of results, it is very positive. But the problem is that we can do much better than that! »
On the third step of the provisional podium is a very lonely Esapekka Lappi (Hyundai). The Finn will not go after the leading duo, especially since his teammate Craig Breen is looking after the chances of victory, and he has a small lead over his pursuers (and former teammates) from Toyota Gazoo Racing.
Setting off with the burden of opening the track, Kalle Rovanperä created an illusion on two special stages, those where the layer of ice was the heaviest. The defending champion will have difficulty achieving another victory in Scandinavia due to his delay of more than half a minute. We will see if the better starting position he will benefit from on Saturday morning will change this dynamic.
The reigning double world vice-champion Elfyn Evans was completely transparent, as was Thierry Neuville (Hyundai). Both men have never been on the pace of the best and are constantly losing time, due to chronic understeer.
This stage left one victim: Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota). The Japanese was in the top 5 when a driving error threw him into a snowdrift at the start of the second loop, which sent him into a roll. It is not certain that we will see him again on Saturday because the mechanics must assess the damage to the Yaris, particularly to the roll bar and the engine.
The only Frenchman registered with a Rally1, Pierre-Louis Loubet (M-Sport Ford), stood out by setting a second best time in SS5. The Habs believe “to be able to be happy with (S)a progress », because he has the merit of not having made any mistakes on tricky terrain, while his lack of experience puts him at a disadvantage in this category.
In WRC2, Oliver Solberg (Skoda) goes solo. The son of Petter Solberg was greatly helped by the troubles of his adversaries Emil Lindholm (Skoda, +1'40'' in a wall of snow) and Teemu Suninen (Hyundai, mechanical problem).
General classification Rally Sweden 2023 after Stage 1:
