Rally Sweden: Lappi returns to success after seven years | FP

Back to success

The Rally Sweden officially ended with success of Esapekka Lappi, good at managing the considerable advantage he had at his disposal over his direct opponents after the numerous surprises that materialized during the second round of this championship. A special victory for the Finn, who thanks to this affirmation climbs to the top step of the podium for the second time in his career in the WRC, the first after seven years. In 2017, in fact, Lappi triumphed in his home rally, then at the wheel of Toyota, winning this time with Hyundai. Great satisfaction also for Adrien Fourmauxwho with the 3rd place achieved behind Elfyn Evans gets his first podium in his career.

Fight for 2nd place

The fourth and final day of the Scandinavian rally opened with the best time of Kalle Rovanperä in SS16, but Elfyn Evans' 2nd place reignited the fight for second overall position between him and Fourmaux, who instead came third, 5 seconds behind delay. A duel that rewarded the Welshman also in the following test, to the point of gaining a 14-second lead over the Frenchman and reducing the gap to Lappi by almost half a minute, with the Finn sixth but fully managing his leadership.

Power Stage

The Power Stage ranking differs from the general one, thanks to the extra points that are awarded at the end of this test based on the new regulations introduced this year. What emerged specifically was in this case Rovanperä . To underline, in addition to Evans reducing his gap this time in the world rankings on Neuville, the 10th place for Lorenzo Bertelli and his co-driver Simone Scattolin in the Toyota Rally2. Evans also finished 2nd in Sweden behind the triumphant Lappi, with the WRC now taking a break until March 28 for the Safari Rally in Kenya.

WRC / Rally Sweden 2024 – Final standings (top-10)