16h
The second stage of Rally Sweden will end with two short stages. The Karlstad super special will be contested from 17:45 p.m. The last routes of the day will be followed live with our live text.
16h
In WRC 3 and JWRC, it is still local driver Denis Radström who leads the category with almost 17 seconds ahead of his compatriot Emil Bergkvist. The French Terry Folb is at the foot of the provisional podium just over a minute behind the German Julius Tannert. Jean-Baptiste Franceschi occupies sixth place in the JWRC (7th in WRC 3) just over half a minute behind Irishman Callum Devine.
16h
Takamoto Katsuta (Ford) remains at the head of WRC 2 in 12th place in the general classification, with a dozen seconds ahead of Pontus Tidemand (Skoda). Ole Veiby (Skoda) follows in third place with a similar gap on the Swede. Among the R5s, reigning World RX champion Johan Kristoffersson (Skoda) moved up to sixth place.
16h
The crews will compete in the Karlstad super special from 17:45 p.m. Tänak took the scratch on Thursday evening in 1'32″7.
16h
In WRC 2, Katsuta now has a dozen seconds ahead of Tidemand. Veiby follows the Swede with a similar gap.
15h
Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) further strengthened his leadership position at the Swedish Rally by taking the scratch in SS14 at Vargasen with a time of 8'28"2 at the end of 14,21km. The Belgian took back almost five seconds from Craig Breen (Citroën) who failed a few tenths behind Andreas Mikkelsen (Hyundai). The latter was four seconds ahead of his teammate Hayden Paddon. Mads Ostberg (Citroën) set the fifth fastest time, 8”5 behind the benchmark, gaining seven tenths from Esapekka Lappi (Toyota). Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport) finished in tenth place, 20 seconds from the scratch.
Citroën has confirmed the retirement of Kris Meeke who lost engine power in SS13 after going off the road.
Thierry Neuville now has an 18”8 lead over Craig Breen with two short stages remaining in this stage. Andreas Mikkelsen still completes the provisional podium with more than seven seconds ahead of Hayden Paddon. Mads Ostberg remains fifth with more than eight seconds ahead of Esapekka Lappi who precedes his teammate Jari-Matti Latvala. Teemu Suninen remains eighth ahead of Ott Tänak (Toyota) and M-Sport drivers Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans.
O/A after SS141. Neuville2. Breen +18.83. Mikkelsen +30.84. Paddon +38.45. Ostberg +56.56. Lappi +1m04.97. Latvala +1m59.98. Suninen +2m16.19. Tanak +3m41.110. Ogier +4m22.111. Evans +4m49#WRC #RallySweden pic.twitter.com/xb8uhDkXU5
— Michelin Motorsport (@Michelin_Sport) 17th February 2018
15h
Images of the reception of Neuville's jump in Coli's Crest:
Fucking hell, Thierry Neuville at Colin's Crest #WRC pic.twitter.com/zKnlgD3YUV
- Mattzel89 (@ Mattzel89) 17th February 2018
15h
And it’s a new scratch from Neuville which relegates Breen to 4″8! The Hyundai driver makes the gap, now 18″8 ahead of the Citroën. “I played it safe last year and ended up on the tires. I'm going to be content not to waste time in the next SS. A victory would be a nice revenge after last year (where he retired in a super special while he was in the lead).
The Belgian performed an impressive jump in Colin's Crest, landing on the right wheels of his i20 WRC.
15h
Mikkelsen improves the benchmark by taking 8 tenths from Breen. The Citroën driver maintains a 12s lead over the Norwegian. “I'm trying to be clean. This special is satisfying. »
15h
Paddon: “I was surprised by the quite slippery roads in this special. »
15h
Paddon finished being closest to Breen, 3″3 behind. The Hyundai driver remains in the fight for 3rd place against his teammate Mikkelsen.
15h
And Breen took the provisional scratch with 3″7 ahead of his teammate Ostberg. The Irishman tries to stay in contact with leader Neuville. “We're going to have two difficult stages ahead given that we only have a spare wheel. »
15h
Ostberg takes the lead by 7 tenths over Lappi who is now 8" behind the Top 4. “I'm more confident at the wheel. The special was not bad. I hope to stay at this pace. »
15h
Suninen sets the 3rd time 6″1 behind his compatriot Lappi, falling just one second behind Latvala who is now ahead of him by 16s. “It was a difficult SS. We need to find areas to improve. »
15h
Lappi is still progressing with a 4″9 lead over his teammate Latvala. The Finn attacks to take 5th place from Ostberg. “If I have a chance to overtake him, I'll take it, but he seems to be on the same pace. We still have tomorrow to give it a try. »
15h
Latvala increases the pace again by ahead of his teammate Latvala by 2″4. The Finn is in 7th place opposite Suninen. “The car isn’t right. Something needs to change because it's horrible to drive. The engine stalls when changing gears. »
15h
Tänak improves Ogier’s time by 3″8. The Toyota driver dropped to 9th place following his accident with Meeke in the previous special. " What can I say ? It's like that. »
15h
Evans finished 4″1 behind his teammate Ogier. The Welshman is in 11th place, 27s behind the Frenchman.
15h
Ogier: “The Coli's Crest jump was perhaps the only fun part of the special. It was very complicated. »
15h
Ogier improves Henning Solberg's time by half a minute. The M-Sport driver is in 10th place.
