Solberg leads after opening stage
Petter Solberg has taken an early lead in the Swedish Rally after setting the fastest time in the first run through the Karlstad superspecial
The Subaru driver completed the 1.89-kilometre stage in 1:28.9, half a second quicker than Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala.
Mikko Hirvonen currently holds third in the second works Ford, ahead of world champion Sebastien Loeb (Citroen).
The Citroen team have already been dealt a blow after Loeb's teammate Dani Sordo received a five-minute penalty for a post-Monte Carlo engine change.
Drivers are required to use the same engine for the championship's opening two rounds, but Citroen discovered damage to Sordo's engine following the season opener. The Spaniard had retired from second place due to a turbo failure on the second day in Monte Carlo, before rejoining to take 11th.
Stobart Ford pair Henning Solberg and Gigi Galli complete the initial top six in Sweden, with the two Suzukis, and privateers Mads Ostberg and Andreas Mikkelsen filling the remaining top ten places following the short opening stage.
The rally commences in earnest on Friday morning, with the first full-length stage scheduled to start at 9.34am local time.
Leading positions after SS1:
Pos Driver Car Time 1. P Solberg Subaru 1:28.9 2. Latvala Ford + 0.5 3. Hirvonen Ford + 0.9 4. Loeb Citroen + 1.1 5. H Solberg Ford + 1.5 6. Galli Ford + 2.0 7. Andersson Suzuki + 2.0 8. Gardemeister Suzuki + 3.2 9. Ostberg Subaru + 4.1 10. Mikkelsen Ford + 4.5
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Hamilton accepts blame for incident with Albon in F1 Brazilian GP
Ferrari drivers called to F1 stewards over Brazilian GP collision
Will Alonso's Indy failure end the age of versatility?
Solberg says WRC Hyundai car switch "easier" than expected
Oliver Solberg to make top class WRC debut at Arctic Rally Finland
Solberg: why Kubica will star in rallying
Porsche lodges appeal over da Costa's Misano Formula E disqualification
2024 MotoGP world championship standings after the Americas GP
What Aston Martin’s curfew burn told us about its F1 upgrade trajectory
Tank Slappers Podcast: MotoGP Americas GP review
How Rovanpera showed his class above his WRC rivals in Kenya
How a new 'old' challenge is capturing the spirit of British rallying lore
How Lappi survived Swedish snow carnage to snap his lengthy WRC drought
The new WRC highs Neuville reached to defeat Monte master Ogier
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments