Adrien Fourmaux had up until now been the author of a convincing Rally Sweden. Yesterday, helped by his good starting position, he capitalized and finished in the podium area. This morning not only did he not melt like… snow in the sun, but he actually signed his first scratch of the season and the first of M-Sport.
The Frenchman won the 28.06 kilometer Bygdsiljum 1, beating Thierry Neuville by 1″5, the only one to keep an excellent pace in this test and to endanger Fourmaux's first joy this season. For Adrien, this is the fourth special victory in the WRC of his career. For M-Sport a small piece that makes us think about the wisdom of the choice to focus on him again after a year of 'purgatory' with the Fiesta Rally2.
Thanks to this success, Fourmaux solidified his second place in the general classification, fending off Elfyn Evans' attacks. Speaking of the Welshman, until a few kilometers from the end of the test he seemed to be able to easily obtain the best time and close on Fourmaux, but an error led him to crash into a snowbank and lose power. Luckily for him, this was the last test before the mid-day Service.
Thierry Neuville's comeback continues, moving up another position after overtaking Georg Linnamae. The Estonian also lost other positions due to a spin that cost him several precious seconds. An important morning lap for Neuville, because he returns to the top of the rankings and in the afternoon he will be able to try to recover another position against Oliver Solberg, now firmly in the lead of the WRC2 and fourth overall.
Behind the Belgian from Hyundai Motorsport we find 4 Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. These are those of Sami Pajari, Roope Korhonen, Georg Linnamae and Mikko Heikkila. Loauri Joona closes the Top 10 with the second Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 in the top 10 places. Just outside, however, Lorenzo Bertelli. The Italian, however, is more than a minute behind the Finn.
Saturday's morning ride at Rally Sweden ends here. The afternoon one will start this afternoon with Special Stage 12, the 15.65 kilometer Vannas 2. The first car will enter the special at 2.15pm Italian time.
#WRC #Rally #Sweden #SS11 #Fourmaux #shines #Neuville #returns
