Rally Sweden 12th - 15th February 2015
OGIER FIGHTS BACK FOR LAST-GASP GLORY
Leg 1 - After the mild conditions of 2014, the first leg of the 2015 event got underway in near-ideal conditions with plenty of fallen snow forming high snowbanks for the crews to lean on. A surprising name topped the times on Thursday night's Karlstad Superspecial - the WRC2-contending Ford Fiesta RRC of Pontus Tidemand, who headed Mads Østberg's works Citroën by 0.3 seconds. Tidemand's time at the top of the leaderboard would surely be short-lived as the rally headed into the forests and across the border into Norway, reigning world champion Sébastien Ogier started the day with the fastest time on three of the first four forest stages to establish an early 9.1-second lead over Volkswagen teammate Jari-Matti Latvala after SS5, Kirkenær 1. An all-Volkswagen top three was completed by Andreas Mikkelsen, a further 10.5 seconds behind. On SS6, Kirkenær 2, an issue with his Polo's windscreen wipers forced Ogier to slow his pace and allowed Latvala to close the lead gap to 3.3 seconds, his lead was then further reduced to a solitary second on SS7, Finnskogen 2. Ogier was able to take back 1.9 seconds on SS8, Röjden 2, but a dramatic SS9, Torsby 2, turned the event on its head. Firstly Ogier braked too late for a junction and spun into a snowbank, with a loss of 38.6 seconds to the fastest man Thierry Neuville. This should have gifted Latvala the rally lead but he too slid into a snowbank, with a loss of more than eight and a half minutes. The third Volkswagen of Mikkelsen took up the cudgels from Neuville by 19.8 seconds at day's end. Østberg sat in third place overnight, just 0.3 seconds down on Neuville, whilst in fourth was a recovering Ogier, who couldn't be written off as he sat 24.7 seconds from the lead.
Top 6 after Leg 1
1. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene - Volkswagen Polo WRC 1:14:03.6
2. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul - Hyundai i20 WRC +19.1
3. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson - Citroën DS3 WRC +19.4
4. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia - Volkswagen Polo WRC +24.7
5. Ott Tänak/Raigo Mõlder - Ford Fiesta WRC +1:06.2
6. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard - Hyundai i20 WRC +1:37.1
Leg 2 - The fired-up Ogier started the day determined to make inroads into the gap ahead and was handed third place on the first stage of the day, SS11 Fredriksberg 1, when a puncture and spin for Østberg cost the Norwegian more than three-quarters of a minute. Ogier then went fastest on the following three stages to overhaul Neuville for second and now sat just 1.7 seconds behind stablemate Mikkelsen at service - helped in part by a couple of mistakes from the Volkswagen youngster, firstly running wide and filling the air intakes with snow in SS12, Rämmen 1, and then spinning on SS14, Vargåsen 1. The relentless charge to the front by Ogier slipped a little in the afternoon, taking pain from the new rule which forced the championship leader to run first on the road for two days, with Mikkelsen able to stretch the gap to 8.1 seconds from his teammate. However, an inspired afternoon loop saw Neuville climb past the pair of them, having set fastest times on SS15 and SS18, to take the lead overnight by 1.5 seconds, with just 9.6 seconds covering the trio to set up an exciting final day.
Top 6 after Leg 2
1. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul - Hyundai i20 WRC 2:29:54.5
2. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene - Volkswagen Polo WRC +1.5
3. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia - Volkswagen Polo WRC +9.6
4. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson - Citroën DS3 WRC +53.4
5. Ott Tänak/Raigo Mõlder - Ford Fiesta WRC +1:29.2
6. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard - Hyundai i20 WRC +2:35.7
Leg 3 - Just three stages remained to decide the rally victor, one run of Lesjöfors and two of Värmullsåsen - the second of which was the points-scoring Powerstage. Neuville wasn't confident of keeping the two works Volkswagens at bay and in SS19, Lesjöfors, he slid wide at a junction so fell 3.8 seconds behind new leader Mikkelsen, he was still 3.0 seconds up on the stage-winning Ogier though - who was only able to take 1.3 seconds from his junior teammate so sat 6.8 seconds off the lead in third. On to SS20, Värmullsåsen 1, and Ogier applied more pressure to move into second but now trailed Mikkelsen by just 3.0 seconds, 1.6 seconds ahead of Neuville, as they regrouped for the SS21 Powerstage, Värmullsåsen 2. With all three crews in maximum attack mode, something had to give and it was Mikkelsen who cracked by spinning into a snowbank with a loss of over forty seconds to his stage and rally winning teammate Ogier, who bested Neuville by 4.8 seconds in the stage and by 6.4 seconds overall. Mikkelsen kept the final step on the podium after a dramatic end to the rally.
Top 10 Results
1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia - Volkswagen Polo WRC 2:55:30.5
2. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul - Hyundai i20 WRC 2:55:36.9 +6.4
3. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene - Volkswagen Polo WRC 2:56:10.3 +33.4
4. Ott Tänak/Raigo Mõlder - Ford Fiesta WRC 2:57:56.5 +1:46.2
5. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard - Hyundai i20 WRC 2:59:02.0 +3:31.5 +1:05.5
6. Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt - Ford Fiesta WRC 2:59:23.5 +3:53.0 +21.5
7. Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle - Citroën DS3 WRC 2:59:36.3 +4:05.8 +12.8
8. Martin Prokop/Jan Tománek - Ford Fiesta WRC 2:59:56.5 +4:26.0 +20.2
9. Yuriy Protasov/Pavio Cherepin - Ford Fiesta WRC 3:01:02.7 +5:32.2
10. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson - Citroën DS3 WRC 3:02:21.4 +6:50.9 +1:18.7
Ogier quote - "This one is a crazy one! Flat out, flat out from the beginning to the end. Even by opening the road 85% of the rally, we won. It's an amazing victory. So happy, so proud!"
Leg 1 - After the mild conditions of 2014, the first leg of the 2015 event got underway in near-ideal conditions with plenty of fallen snow forming high snowbanks for the crews to lean on. A surprising name topped the times on Thursday night's Karlstad Superspecial - the WRC2-contending Ford Fiesta RRC of Pontus Tidemand, who headed Mads Østberg's works Citroën by 0.3 seconds. Tidemand's time at the top of the leaderboard would surely be short-lived as the rally headed into the forests and across the border into Norway, reigning world champion Sébastien Ogier started the day with the fastest time on three of the first four forest stages to establish an early 9.1-second lead over Volkswagen teammate Jari-Matti Latvala after SS5, Kirkenær 1. An all-Volkswagen top three was completed by Andreas Mikkelsen, a further 10.5 seconds behind. On SS6, Kirkenær 2, an issue with his Polo's windscreen wipers forced Ogier to slow his pace and allowed Latvala to close the lead gap to 3.3 seconds, his lead was then further reduced to a solitary second on SS7, Finnskogen 2. Ogier was able to take back 1.9 seconds on SS8, Röjden 2, but a dramatic SS9, Torsby 2, turned the event on its head. Firstly Ogier braked too late for a junction and spun into a snowbank, with a loss of 38.6 seconds to the fastest man Thierry Neuville. This should have gifted Latvala the rally lead but he too slid into a snowbank, with a loss of more than eight and a half minutes. The third Volkswagen of Mikkelsen took up the cudgels from Neuville by 19.8 seconds at day's end. Østberg sat in third place overnight, just 0.3 seconds down on Neuville, whilst in fourth was a recovering Ogier, who couldn't be written off as he sat 24.7 seconds from the lead.
Top 6 after Leg 1
1. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene - Volkswagen Polo WRC 1:14:03.6
2. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul - Hyundai i20 WRC +19.1
3. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson - Citroën DS3 WRC +19.4
4. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia - Volkswagen Polo WRC +24.7
5. Ott Tänak/Raigo Mõlder - Ford Fiesta WRC +1:06.2
6. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard - Hyundai i20 WRC +1:37.1
Leg 2 - The fired-up Ogier started the day determined to make inroads into the gap ahead and was handed third place on the first stage of the day, SS11 Fredriksberg 1, when a puncture and spin for Østberg cost the Norwegian more than three-quarters of a minute. Ogier then went fastest on the following three stages to overhaul Neuville for second and now sat just 1.7 seconds behind stablemate Mikkelsen at service - helped in part by a couple of mistakes from the Volkswagen youngster, firstly running wide and filling the air intakes with snow in SS12, Rämmen 1, and then spinning on SS14, Vargåsen 1. The relentless charge to the front by Ogier slipped a little in the afternoon, taking pain from the new rule which forced the championship leader to run first on the road for two days, with Mikkelsen able to stretch the gap to 8.1 seconds from his teammate. However, an inspired afternoon loop saw Neuville climb past the pair of them, having set fastest times on SS15 and SS18, to take the lead overnight by 1.5 seconds, with just 9.6 seconds covering the trio to set up an exciting final day.
Top 6 after Leg 2
1. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul - Hyundai i20 WRC 2:29:54.5
2. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene - Volkswagen Polo WRC +1.5
3. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia - Volkswagen Polo WRC +9.6
4. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson - Citroën DS3 WRC +53.4
5. Ott Tänak/Raigo Mõlder - Ford Fiesta WRC +1:29.2
6. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard - Hyundai i20 WRC +2:35.7
Leg 3 - Just three stages remained to decide the rally victor, one run of Lesjöfors and two of Värmullsåsen - the second of which was the points-scoring Powerstage. Neuville wasn't confident of keeping the two works Volkswagens at bay and in SS19, Lesjöfors, he slid wide at a junction so fell 3.8 seconds behind new leader Mikkelsen, he was still 3.0 seconds up on the stage-winning Ogier though - who was only able to take 1.3 seconds from his junior teammate so sat 6.8 seconds off the lead in third. On to SS20, Värmullsåsen 1, and Ogier applied more pressure to move into second but now trailed Mikkelsen by just 3.0 seconds, 1.6 seconds ahead of Neuville, as they regrouped for the SS21 Powerstage, Värmullsåsen 2. With all three crews in maximum attack mode, something had to give and it was Mikkelsen who cracked by spinning into a snowbank with a loss of over forty seconds to his stage and rally winning teammate Ogier, who bested Neuville by 4.8 seconds in the stage and by 6.4 seconds overall. Mikkelsen kept the final step on the podium after a dramatic end to the rally.
Top 10 Results
1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia - Volkswagen Polo WRC 2:55:30.5
2. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul - Hyundai i20 WRC 2:55:36.9 +6.4
3. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene - Volkswagen Polo WRC 2:56:10.3 +33.4
4. Ott Tänak/Raigo Mõlder - Ford Fiesta WRC 2:57:56.5 +1:46.2
5. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard - Hyundai i20 WRC 2:59:02.0 +3:31.5 +1:05.5
6. Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt - Ford Fiesta WRC 2:59:23.5 +3:53.0 +21.5
7. Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle - Citroën DS3 WRC 2:59:36.3 +4:05.8 +12.8
8. Martin Prokop/Jan Tománek - Ford Fiesta WRC 2:59:56.5 +4:26.0 +20.2
9. Yuriy Protasov/Pavio Cherepin - Ford Fiesta WRC 3:01:02.7 +5:32.2
10. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson - Citroën DS3 WRC 3:02:21.4 +6:50.9 +1:18.7
Ogier quote - "This one is a crazy one! Flat out, flat out from the beginning to the end. Even by opening the road 85% of the rally, we won. It's an amazing victory. So happy, so proud!"
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WRC2 - Finn Jari Ketomaa dominated the WRC2 category in his Ford Fiesta R5, making up for his last stage defeat in 2014, winning by a handy 32.6-second margin. Behind, D-Mack stablemate Eyvind Brynildsen came in second aboard his Fiesta RRC from the Mini S2000 1.6T of Valeriy Gorban, 2 minutes 54.8 seconds down on the Norwegian. Brynildsen, Gorban and the Fiesta R5 of Fredrik Åhlin were embroiled in a big fight for the podium positions on the opening day, just 3.0 seconds covering the trio on Friday night. On Saturday morning, Gorban maintained second ahead of Brynildsen until SS14, Vargåsen 1, when the Ukrainian slid into a snowbank and lost more than three and a half minutes. This promoted Åhlin into third but the Swede was frustrated by a spin on the first corner of the day's opening stage, SS11 Fredriksberg 1, and was then caught behind Gorban when the Mini rejoined from its off just ahead of him. The top three stayed in that order until the penultimate stage when a gear selection issue sent Åhlin into a snowbank and dropped to sixth, Gorban replacing him on the podium. The Fiestas of Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Pontus Tidemand completed the top five - the Swede had led the event overall after the Karlstad Superspecial but an off on Friday sent him well down the order.
1. Jari Ketomaa/Kaj Lindström - Ford Fiesta R5 3:05:07.4
2. Eyvind Brynildsen/Anders Fredriksson - Ford Fiesta RRC 3:05:40.0 +32.6
3. Valeriy Gorban/Vlodymyr Korsia - Mini Cooper S2000 1.6T 3:08:34.8 +3:27.4
WRC3 - Young Norwegian Ole Christian Veiby was the only registered WRC3 contender in his Citroën DS3 R3T so was guaranteed the win as long as he finished, which he duly managed whilst impressing with his speed to be first two-wheel-drive competitor home in 21st overall.
1. Ole Christian Veiby/Anders Jæger - Citroën DS3 R3T Max 3:16:03.5
A star performance outside of the WRC, WRC2 and WRC3 runners came from ERC Junior competitor Emil Bergqvist in an Opel Adam R2, the rapid Swedish youngster finishing one spot behind Veiby in 22nd overall and ahead of fifteen 4x4 cars.
1. Jari Ketomaa/Kaj Lindström - Ford Fiesta R5 3:05:07.4
2. Eyvind Brynildsen/Anders Fredriksson - Ford Fiesta RRC 3:05:40.0 +32.6
3. Valeriy Gorban/Vlodymyr Korsia - Mini Cooper S2000 1.6T 3:08:34.8 +3:27.4
WRC3 - Young Norwegian Ole Christian Veiby was the only registered WRC3 contender in his Citroën DS3 R3T so was guaranteed the win as long as he finished, which he duly managed whilst impressing with his speed to be first two-wheel-drive competitor home in 21st overall.
1. Ole Christian Veiby/Anders Jæger - Citroën DS3 R3T Max 3:16:03.5
A star performance outside of the WRC, WRC2 and WRC3 runners came from ERC Junior competitor Emil Bergqvist in an Opel Adam R2, the rapid Swedish youngster finishing one spot behind Veiby in 22nd overall and ahead of fifteen 4x4 cars.
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Rally Sweden Historic
Petter and Pernilla Solberg again guided their Ford Escort Mk2 to a comfortable win of the Historic event from the Audi Quattro A2 of Tom Axelsson, the Solbergs completing a hat-trick of victories of the Historic section. A spectacular sight out on the stages was the Ford Falcon Sprint of Per Göransson, the unwieldy beast finishing in 25th.
1. Petter Solberg/Pernilla Solberg - Ford Escort Mk2 RS1800 1:24:36.2
2. Tom Axelsson/Krister Gull - Audi Quattro A2 1:27:42.3 +3:06.1
3. Arne Rådström/Thomas Nilsson - Volvo 242 1:28:36.5 +4:00.3
Petter and Pernilla Solberg again guided their Ford Escort Mk2 to a comfortable win of the Historic event from the Audi Quattro A2 of Tom Axelsson, the Solbergs completing a hat-trick of victories of the Historic section. A spectacular sight out on the stages was the Ford Falcon Sprint of Per Göransson, the unwieldy beast finishing in 25th.
1. Petter Solberg/Pernilla Solberg - Ford Escort Mk2 RS1800 1:24:36.2
2. Tom Axelsson/Krister Gull - Audi Quattro A2 1:27:42.3 +3:06.1
3. Arne Rådström/Thomas Nilsson - Volvo 242 1:28:36.5 +4:00.3
