The Rally of Sweden returns to reward a Scandinavian driver for the first time in five years: in 2017, however, it was the Finn Kalle Rovanperä to get on the top step of the podium at the wheel of his Toyotaexactly as happened today at the end of the Umeå round, almost completely dominated by the 21-year-old, able to make the most of the misadventures of Elfyn Evans – the latest winner of the Swedish rally – and of Thierry Neuvillewhich in any case raised the disappointing Monte Carlo performance by placing at 2nd place. Along with Rovanperä’s success, Finland can also celebrate another of its podium representatives in the figure of Esapekka Lappiarrived at 3rd place with Toyota at the end of a round based on concreteness and continuity. Thanks to this result, the 31-year-old recaptures his first WRC podium from the 2019 Rally of Turkey, after which he finished in 2nd place. The only difference compared to 2017, as regards exclusively the winner, is to be identified in the co-pilotwhich today responds to the name of Jonne Halttunen.
A day, today, which began with a real cold shower for Evans, penalized by 10 seconds by the GSRA management for the off-road event which took place in the last stage on Saturday a few meters from the finish line of the Power Stage. As if that weren’t enough, the Welshman from Toyota, during the SS16, also hit the snow bank with his front end, an impact that caused his withdraw from the Rally for damage to the car. An error that further complicates his championship, with the Toyota driver already the protagonist of a similar result in the previous round of Monte Carlo. The Japanese manufacturer, however, was immediately consoled with the success in the Rovanperä stage, which set the best time ahead of Neuville and the second Hyundai of Soldberg. The Finn, while finishing ahead of the Belgian also in SS17, did not however appear in 1st place in this last heat, which instead rewarded the excellent performance of Ott Tanak; The Estonian of Hyundai in fact stopped the clock at 6 and a half minutes, generating an advantage of just over 3 seconds over Rovanperä, 5th in the ranking just ahead of Neuville and Katsuta, the latter author of an uncertainty at the start.
Rally Sweden Winners !! 🥇
It doesn’t feel great to celebrate too much. It’s been a really difficult weekend for people in Ukraine and I wish them strength and hope.
It’s all I can do this moment💙🧡# KR69 #ToyotaGAZOORacing #GRYaris pic.twitter.com/5eAovUZaYv– Kalle Rovanperä (@KalleRovanpera) February 27, 2022
In the penultimate heat, the number 69 of Toyota secured the third position, accusing a half second delay from his compatriot Lappi and from Neuville, the latter winner of the test. However, despite this result, the Finn firmly maintained his leadership in the overall standings on the eve of the last round of the Rally of Sweden, with a good 21 and a half seconds advantage from Belgium on the eve of the Power Stage of Sarsjöliden, decisive for the final victory. In the latter, there are no surprises of any kind, with Rovanperä officially obtaining the first seasonal success for him and for Toyota, thus replicating Sebastien Loeb’s success in Monte Carlo with Ford, with the French absent from the Scandinavian competition. exactly like his compatriot Sebastien Ogier. In the post-race celebrations, the Finn finally dedicates his victory to the Ukrainian people, who are currently suffering from the war in their country following the Russian military invasion.
Rally Sweden | Final ranking, Top-10
Pos. | Pilot | Car | Time / Gap |
1 | K. ROVANPERÄ | Toyota | 2: 10: 44.9 |
2 | T. NEUVILLE | Hyundai | +22.0 |
3 | E. LAPPI | Toyota | +30.6 |
4 | T. KATSUTA | Toyota | +2: 19.4 |
5 | G. GREENSMITH | Ford | +3: 20.4 |
6 | O. SOLDBERG | Hyundai | +5: 39.4 |
7 | A. MIKKELSEN | Skoda (WRC2) | +7: 11.1 |
8 | O. VEIBY | Volkswagen (WRC2) | +7: 34.3 |
9 | J. HUTTUNEN | Ford (WRC2) | +8: 14.2 |
10 | E. KAUR | Volkswagen (WRC2) | +8: 24.8 |
#WRC #Rovanperä #wins #Rally #Sweden #FormulaPassionit