Rovanperä regains control at Rally Sweden, Toyota dominates

Le Rally of Sweden 2022 seems to lean in favor of Toyota Gazoo Racing in this second stage. The first loop completed this Saturday February 26 turned to the advantage of Kalle Rovanperä without the shadow of a dispute.

The young Finn, aged only 21, achieved his first podium in the World Rally Championship (WRC) on Swedish ice in 2020. Two years later, the Nordic has matured while preserving his peak speed. While six changes of leader occurred in the space of the first eight stages, Kalle Rovanperä continued to increase his margin in the three stages on Saturday morning.

Harri Rovanperä's son leads the way for Toyota Gazoo Racing. The Japanese brand takes its place like a parade with three GR Yaris Rally1 hybrids on the provisional podium! Elfyn Evans is only 4''8 behind, but it is Esapekka Lappi, 3rd at 12'', who impresses. The Finn had not been involved in an official team since the end of the 2019 season (Citroën) and returns to the TGR for the first time since the end of 2018!

Our crews are incredibly closely matched at #RallySweden. Watch and listen to them at work on Sweden's high-speed internships! 👀🔊#ToyotaGAZOORacing #GRYaris # Rally1 #WRC pic.twitter.com/mM63Hi6Vbs

- TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) February 26, 2022

Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) had finished the first stage with a bang thanks to a better studded tire strategy; the Belgian returns to the Umea service park this Saturday noon with less energy, the fault of a driving error and a fault in the hybrid system on his mount.

“I pulled straight on at the first braking of special 10he explained. Then the hybrid system slowed me down. It's strange. I couldn't reach top speed. But overall I can't match Rovanperä's speed. »

This concern recalls the damage that struck another Hyundai i20, that ofOtt Tänak. The 2019 world champion looked like he was having a bad day when the supplier of the hybrid system explained to him the cause of the problem!

ALSO READ > Tänak and Hyundai helpless victims of the hybrid

The South Korean firm will count on Oliver Solberg to score valuable points in the Manufacturers' Championship. With almost a minute left, the Swede has little hope for the rest of the rally, unless there are incidents ahead of him. Also watch out for the return of the Japanese Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota), who is only 30 seconds behind.

On the side of M-Sport Ford, Craig Breen brought a first scratch time this weekend but the Irishman no longer has any result objective due to going off the road on Friday morning. Adrien fourmaux does not make any mistakes as his boss asked him following his accident at Monte-Carlo.

Finally, outgoing WRC2 champion Andreas Mikkelsen (Skoda) leads the lower category ahead of his Norwegian compatriot Ole Christian Veiby (Volkswagen).

General classification after SS10: