Rally Sweden 9th - 12th February 2017
LATVALA'S FOURTH AS TOYOTA COMES TO THE FORE
Leg 1 - First up was the Karlstad Superspecial to be tackled on Thursday evening. Setting the pace was the Toyota Yaris WRC of Jari-Matti Latvala by 0.6 seconds from Thierry Neuville, with Dani Sordo a further 0.1 seconds back in third. Friday took the crews on their now traditional visit to Norway for six stages, with a single run of the Torsby stage at the end of the day. Conditions were near-perfect for the field as they set off into the forests and it was Neuville who drew first blood on SS2, Röjden 1 - a stage that started and finished in Sweden but crossed into Norway mid-stage. The Belgian was quickest by 2.0 seconds from Kris Meeke and Ott Tänak would set the third fastest time, 2.8 seconds away. Crucially, Neuville was 4.6 seconds quicker than Latvala so moved into a 4.0-second lead from Tänak and Meeke, helped by a big moment for Latvala when his car bottomed out on a bump and threw the car off the road. Neuville continued to set the pace on SS3, Hof-Finnskog 1, to open a 4.6-second lead over Latvala, who recovered to second overall with a time just 0.6 seconds down on Neuville. However, on SS4, Svullrya 1, Latvala flew through to go an impressive 8.5 seconds faster than the Belgian and sailed into a 3.9-second lead at lunchtime service, with Meeke 18.8 seconds off the lead in third. The afternoon loop belonged to Neuville as he set a mighty pace to win the SS5, SS6 and SS7 repeat of the morning loop to hold the lead with a 28.1-second margin overnight from Latvala. A big battle for third place raged all day, Tänak held the spot after SS2 but he was promptly passed by Meeke on SS3 after a gearbox issue dropped the Estonian down to sixth. Meeke would hold third until a brief trip into a snowbank on SS5, Röjden 2, dropped the Citroën back to fourth behind a resurgent Tänak and 2.2 seconds ahead of Sébastien Ogier, who had struggled a little opening the road on the morning loop. Tänak had grappled with worn tyres through SS7, Svullrya 2, so fell behind both Meeke and Ogier into fifth, the Estonian then set the fastest time on SS8 to vault the Fiesta WRC back ahead of them both to sit third overnight as 6.0 seconds covered the trio.
Top 6 after Leg 1
1. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul - Hyundai i20 WRC 1:16:24.7
2. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila - Toyota Yaris WRC +28.1
3. Ott Tänak/Märtin Jarveoja - Ford Fiesta WRC +49.7
4. Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle - Citroën C3 WRC +51.8
5. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia - Ford Fiesta WRC +55.7
6. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard - Hyundai i20 WRC +1:17.8
Leg 2 - Tänak attacked the morning loop of stages like a man possessed to win all three of them, carrying him to 9.9 seconds away from Latvala's second place. Tänak's M-Sport Ford team-mate Ogier got ahead of Meeke on SS9, Knon 1, to maintain fourth at service. Such was the new WRC cars' pace, with their increased power, aero and technology, that the organisers were forced to cancel the SS12 re-run of Knon on safety grounds as the average speed was too high, Tänak's fastest time on SS9 set whilst averaging over 85 mph! A time-consuming off into a snowbank on SS14, Vargåsen 2, for fifth-placed Meeke meant that the Citroën man tumbled down the results sheet, second-placed Latvala also lost 6.0 seconds to nearest challenger Tänak in there after having to pass the stricken C3 WRC. Ahead of them all, Neuville serenely passed through the afternoon stages to hold a commanding 43.8-second lead heading to the day-ending Karlstad Superspecial but disaster struck as he clipped a concrete block, which broke the Hyundai's steering. Unable to complete the stage, he was then hit with a 10-minute Rally 2 penalty to send the gutted Belgian plummeting down the leaderboard. That drama meant that Latvala gained the lead overnight by 3.8 seconds from Tänak, with world champion Ogier still in contention in third - 16.6 seconds covering the trio.
Top 6 after leg 2
1. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila - Toyota Yaris WRC 2:04:59.3
2. Ott Tänak/Märtin Jarveoja - Ford Fiesta WRC +3.8
3. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia - Ford Fiesta WRC +16.6
4. Dani Sordo/Marc Martí - Hyundai i20 WRC +1:39.5
5. Craig Breen/Scott Martin - Citroën C3 WRC +2:04.5
6. Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt - Ford Fiesta WRC +3:44.7
Leg 3 - Any hopes that Ogier had about chasing down the rally win were soon dashed on the very first bend of the day in SS16, Likenäs 1, when a spin cost him almost half a minute but, luckily, no positions. Up at the front, Latvala tore through the two passes of Likenäs to add 16.2 seconds to his lead over Tänak, who complained about the handling of his car in the slower sections, and head into the final test, SS18 Torsby 2, 20.0 seconds clear - the stage would also form the points-paying Powerstage. A number of crews had driven steadily through the Likenäs stages, saving their tyres to go for one of the top 5 stage times which now counted for Powerstage bonus points in 2017. Despite that, Latvala still set the fastest time to bag the extra points plus seal a superb 29.2-second winning margin and Toyota’s first victory since returning to the WRC as a manufacturer team.
Top 10 Results
1. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila - Toyota Yaris WRC 2:36:03.6
2. Ott Tänak/Märtin Jarveoja - Ford Fiesta WRC 2:36:32.8 +29.2
3. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia - Ford Fiesta WRC 2:37:03.1 +59.5 +30.3
4. Dani Sordo/Marc Martí - Hyundai i20 WRC 2:38:15.1 +2:11.5 +1:12.0
5. Craig Breen/Scott Martin - Citroën C3 WRC 2:38:54.8 +2:51.2 +39.7
6. Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt - Ford Fiesta WRC 2:41:30.2 +5:26.6 +2:35.4
7. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard - Hyundai i20 WRC 2:41:34.8 +5:31.2 +4.6
8. Stéphane Lefebvre/Gabin Moreau - Citroën DS3 WRC 2:43:18.3 +7:14.7 +1:43.5
9. Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson - Škoda Fabia R5 2:45:14.7 +9:11.1 +1:56.4
10. Teemu Sunninen/Mikko Markkula - Ford Fiesta R5 2:46:06.5 +10:02.9 +51.8
Latvala quote - "I mean, ahh, it's amazing! New team, new car. We are, uhh, second rally and we are winning it straight away! I mean it is... I have no words how I can describe the feeling. It's so much emotion, I drove my best Powerstage ever today with the Toyota Yaris!"
Leg 1 - First up was the Karlstad Superspecial to be tackled on Thursday evening. Setting the pace was the Toyota Yaris WRC of Jari-Matti Latvala by 0.6 seconds from Thierry Neuville, with Dani Sordo a further 0.1 seconds back in third. Friday took the crews on their now traditional visit to Norway for six stages, with a single run of the Torsby stage at the end of the day. Conditions were near-perfect for the field as they set off into the forests and it was Neuville who drew first blood on SS2, Röjden 1 - a stage that started and finished in Sweden but crossed into Norway mid-stage. The Belgian was quickest by 2.0 seconds from Kris Meeke and Ott Tänak would set the third fastest time, 2.8 seconds away. Crucially, Neuville was 4.6 seconds quicker than Latvala so moved into a 4.0-second lead from Tänak and Meeke, helped by a big moment for Latvala when his car bottomed out on a bump and threw the car off the road. Neuville continued to set the pace on SS3, Hof-Finnskog 1, to open a 4.6-second lead over Latvala, who recovered to second overall with a time just 0.6 seconds down on Neuville. However, on SS4, Svullrya 1, Latvala flew through to go an impressive 8.5 seconds faster than the Belgian and sailed into a 3.9-second lead at lunchtime service, with Meeke 18.8 seconds off the lead in third. The afternoon loop belonged to Neuville as he set a mighty pace to win the SS5, SS6 and SS7 repeat of the morning loop to hold the lead with a 28.1-second margin overnight from Latvala. A big battle for third place raged all day, Tänak held the spot after SS2 but he was promptly passed by Meeke on SS3 after a gearbox issue dropped the Estonian down to sixth. Meeke would hold third until a brief trip into a snowbank on SS5, Röjden 2, dropped the Citroën back to fourth behind a resurgent Tänak and 2.2 seconds ahead of Sébastien Ogier, who had struggled a little opening the road on the morning loop. Tänak had grappled with worn tyres through SS7, Svullrya 2, so fell behind both Meeke and Ogier into fifth, the Estonian then set the fastest time on SS8 to vault the Fiesta WRC back ahead of them both to sit third overnight as 6.0 seconds covered the trio.
Top 6 after Leg 1
1. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul - Hyundai i20 WRC 1:16:24.7
2. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila - Toyota Yaris WRC +28.1
3. Ott Tänak/Märtin Jarveoja - Ford Fiesta WRC +49.7
4. Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle - Citroën C3 WRC +51.8
5. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia - Ford Fiesta WRC +55.7
6. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard - Hyundai i20 WRC +1:17.8
Leg 2 - Tänak attacked the morning loop of stages like a man possessed to win all three of them, carrying him to 9.9 seconds away from Latvala's second place. Tänak's M-Sport Ford team-mate Ogier got ahead of Meeke on SS9, Knon 1, to maintain fourth at service. Such was the new WRC cars' pace, with their increased power, aero and technology, that the organisers were forced to cancel the SS12 re-run of Knon on safety grounds as the average speed was too high, Tänak's fastest time on SS9 set whilst averaging over 85 mph! A time-consuming off into a snowbank on SS14, Vargåsen 2, for fifth-placed Meeke meant that the Citroën man tumbled down the results sheet, second-placed Latvala also lost 6.0 seconds to nearest challenger Tänak in there after having to pass the stricken C3 WRC. Ahead of them all, Neuville serenely passed through the afternoon stages to hold a commanding 43.8-second lead heading to the day-ending Karlstad Superspecial but disaster struck as he clipped a concrete block, which broke the Hyundai's steering. Unable to complete the stage, he was then hit with a 10-minute Rally 2 penalty to send the gutted Belgian plummeting down the leaderboard. That drama meant that Latvala gained the lead overnight by 3.8 seconds from Tänak, with world champion Ogier still in contention in third - 16.6 seconds covering the trio.
Top 6 after leg 2
1. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila - Toyota Yaris WRC 2:04:59.3
2. Ott Tänak/Märtin Jarveoja - Ford Fiesta WRC +3.8
3. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia - Ford Fiesta WRC +16.6
4. Dani Sordo/Marc Martí - Hyundai i20 WRC +1:39.5
5. Craig Breen/Scott Martin - Citroën C3 WRC +2:04.5
6. Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt - Ford Fiesta WRC +3:44.7
Leg 3 - Any hopes that Ogier had about chasing down the rally win were soon dashed on the very first bend of the day in SS16, Likenäs 1, when a spin cost him almost half a minute but, luckily, no positions. Up at the front, Latvala tore through the two passes of Likenäs to add 16.2 seconds to his lead over Tänak, who complained about the handling of his car in the slower sections, and head into the final test, SS18 Torsby 2, 20.0 seconds clear - the stage would also form the points-paying Powerstage. A number of crews had driven steadily through the Likenäs stages, saving their tyres to go for one of the top 5 stage times which now counted for Powerstage bonus points in 2017. Despite that, Latvala still set the fastest time to bag the extra points plus seal a superb 29.2-second winning margin and Toyota’s first victory since returning to the WRC as a manufacturer team.
Top 10 Results
1. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila - Toyota Yaris WRC 2:36:03.6
2. Ott Tänak/Märtin Jarveoja - Ford Fiesta WRC 2:36:32.8 +29.2
3. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia - Ford Fiesta WRC 2:37:03.1 +59.5 +30.3
4. Dani Sordo/Marc Martí - Hyundai i20 WRC 2:38:15.1 +2:11.5 +1:12.0
5. Craig Breen/Scott Martin - Citroën C3 WRC 2:38:54.8 +2:51.2 +39.7
6. Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt - Ford Fiesta WRC 2:41:30.2 +5:26.6 +2:35.4
7. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard - Hyundai i20 WRC 2:41:34.8 +5:31.2 +4.6
8. Stéphane Lefebvre/Gabin Moreau - Citroën DS3 WRC 2:43:18.3 +7:14.7 +1:43.5
9. Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson - Škoda Fabia R5 2:45:14.7 +9:11.1 +1:56.4
10. Teemu Sunninen/Mikko Markkula - Ford Fiesta R5 2:46:06.5 +10:02.9 +51.8
Latvala quote - "I mean, ahh, it's amazing! New team, new car. We are, uhh, second rally and we are winning it straight away! I mean it is... I have no words how I can describe the feeling. It's so much emotion, I drove my best Powerstage ever today with the Toyota Yaris!"
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WRC2 and WRC Trophy - Local man Pontus Tidemand flew to a comfortable WRC2 triumph, the Swede at the helm of a works Škoda Fabia R5, winning ten of the seventeen stages en route to a 51.8-second winning margin. A close fight for second raged all rally, Finn Teemu Suninen claiming the spot by 15.6 seconds from young Norwegian Ole Christian Veiby. Veiby had briefly led the category on Friday morning in his Škoda and also got ahead of Sunninen's Fiesta on Saturday when the Finn's windscreen steamed up. Two more Fiestas came in fourth and fifth, those of Eric Camilli and Gus Greensmith, from the Citroën DS3 R5 of Swedish youngster Emil Bergqvist in sixth. As the sole WRC Trophy finisher, the Mini of Ukrainian Valeriy Gorban duly took the win unchallenged after the retirement of Italian Lorenzo Bertelli’s Fiesta.
WRC2
1. Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson - Škoda Fabia R5 2:45:14.7 +1:56.4
2. Teemu Sunninen/Mikko Markkula - Ford Fiesta R5 2:46:06.5 +51.8
3. Ole Christian Veiby/Stig Rune Skjærmoen - Škoda Fabia R5 2:46.22.1 +15.6
WRC Trophy
1. Valeriy Gorban/Sergey Larens - Mini Countryman WRC 2:53:14.1
WRC2
1. Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson - Škoda Fabia R5 2:45:14.7 +1:56.4
2. Teemu Sunninen/Mikko Markkula - Ford Fiesta R5 2:46:06.5 +51.8
3. Ole Christian Veiby/Stig Rune Skjærmoen - Škoda Fabia R5 2:46.22.1 +15.6
WRC Trophy
1. Valeriy Gorban/Sergey Larens - Mini Countryman WRC 2:53:14.1
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Rally Sweden Historic
1992 Swedish Rally winner Mats Jonsson claimed the Historic section victory in his Group A Mazda 323 GTX, defeating the Ford Escort Mk2 of 2006 JWRC champion Patrik Sandell by a little over a minute and a half. The Volvo 242 of Mikael Wisti completed the top three.
1. Mats Jonsson/Johnny Johansson - Mazda 323 GTX 1:08:29.9
2. Patrik Sandell/Björn Lindberg - Ford Escort Mk2 RS1800 1:10:07.3 +1:37.4
3. Mikael Wisti/Håkan Wisti - Volvo 242 1:11:23.7 +2:53.8
1992 Swedish Rally winner Mats Jonsson claimed the Historic section victory in his Group A Mazda 323 GTX, defeating the Ford Escort Mk2 of 2006 JWRC champion Patrik Sandell by a little over a minute and a half. The Volvo 242 of Mikael Wisti completed the top three.
1. Mats Jonsson/Johnny Johansson - Mazda 323 GTX 1:08:29.9
2. Patrik Sandell/Björn Lindberg - Ford Escort Mk2 RS1800 1:10:07.3 +1:37.4
3. Mikael Wisti/Håkan Wisti - Volvo 242 1:11:23.7 +2:53.8
