Rally Sweden
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It's a tricky one this, very narrow in places. It's caught out all of our top three drivers in their careers, so this certainly isn't a foregone conclusion just yet...
Didier Auriol took Toyota's last overall WRC win as a manufacturer on Rally China in 1999. Can Latvala become the next in the Toyota history books?
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With the powerstage coming up, who better to describe it to us than a man who needs a good time through here. ELFYN EVANS is under pressure from Hayden Paddon after engine trouble this morning. He has 8.7s in hand.
SS8 Torsby (10.20miles)
"This is the same as it’s been in years before," says Evans. "There was a new bit added for last year and that’s quite cresty and jumpy again, but it’s generally medium speed for the majority of the first part.
"Like the last one, there are some sections where you go into the trees, but then there are some places with some very, very long straights – they’ve put some chicanes in to slow the cars down there. We come close to the airport – which is where service is – and then we turn off into a quarry which is quite twisty before we come into the manmade section, which is really twisty!
"There are also some quite aggressive jumps in here as well, we’ll have to be careful on those; historically, those kind of jumps have tended to send the nose down on landing. OK, we’re at the end of the loop, but we don’t want to be breaking the front splitter."
SS8 Torsby (10.20miles)
"This is the same as it’s been in years before," says Evans. "There was a new bit added for last year and that’s quite cresty and jumpy again, but it’s generally medium speed for the majority of the first part.
"Like the last one, there are some sections where you go into the trees, but then there are some places with some very, very long straights – they’ve put some chicanes in to slow the cars down there. We come close to the airport – which is where service is – and then we turn off into a quarry which is quite twisty before we come into the manmade section, which is really twisty!
"There are also some quite aggressive jumps in here as well, we’ll have to be careful on those; historically, those kind of jumps have tended to send the nose down on landing. OK, we’re at the end of the loop, but we don’t want to be breaking the front splitter."
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And your running order which is slightly different for this test:
Ostberg
Neuville
Meeke
Suninen
Tidemand
Lefebvre
Paddon
Evans
Breen
Sordo
Ogier
Tanak
Latvala
Gorban
Hanninen
Ostberg
Neuville
Meeke
Suninen
Tidemand
Lefebvre
Paddon
Evans
Breen
Sordo
Ogier
Tanak
Latvala
Gorban
Hanninen
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Here's a reminder of how the order looks heading into the powerstage:
1 Latvala 2h27m12.5s
2 Tanak +20s
3 Ogier +58.3s
4 Sordo +2m03.5s
5 Breen +2m36s
6 Evans +5m14.8s
7 Paddon +5m23.5s
8 Lefebvre +6m52.1s
9 Tidemand +8m33.3s
10 Suninen +9m27.7s
1 Latvala 2h27m12.5s
2 Tanak +20s
3 Ogier +58.3s
4 Sordo +2m03.5s
5 Breen +2m36s
6 Evans +5m14.8s
7 Paddon +5m23.5s
8 Lefebvre +6m52.1s
9 Tidemand +8m33.3s
10 Suninen +9m27.7s
Autosport
Hello and welcome back to Autosport Live for the final stage of Rally Sweden.
Jari-Matti Latvala is on course to give Toyota it's first overall WRC win since 1999. Can he hold on? The gap is 20s...
Jari-Matti Latvala is on course to give Toyota it's first overall WRC win since 1999. Can he hold on? The gap is 20s...
Autosport
We're going to take a breather, but we WILL return for the powerstage conclusion of Rally Sweden. Who would want to miss that.
Here's our report of the morning so far, rejoin us at 1105hrs UK time for the decider.
Can Jari-Matti Latvala give Toyota a win on just its second rally back in the WRC as a manufacturer?
Here's our report of the morning so far, rejoin us at 1105hrs UK time for the decider.
Can Jari-Matti Latvala give Toyota a win on just its second rally back in the WRC as a manufacturer?
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The WRC2 frontrunners are through, with Pontus Tidemand punctuating one of the performances of the rally, leading the class in his works Skoda Fabia R5.
The Swede has allowed his lead to fall under a minute, but so far has managed it brilliantly to head the battling Teemu Suninen and OC Veiby.
Veiby has really come of age on this event in only his fourth WC2 event. To be fighting with two of rallying's hottest properties is no mean feat.
The Swede has allowed his lead to fall under a minute, but so far has managed it brilliantly to head the battling Teemu Suninen and OC Veiby.
Veiby has really come of age on this event in only his fourth WC2 event. To be fighting with two of rallying's hottest properties is no mean feat.
Checkered flag
Here's the times after SS17:
SS17
1 Latvala 11m06.3s
2 Tanak +9.1s
3 Paddon +13.6s
4 Ogier +14.7s
5 Sordo +16.3s
6 Breen +18.5s
After SS17 overall
1 Latvala 2h27m12.5s
2 Tanak +20s
3 Ogier +58.3s
4 Sordo +2m03.5s
5 Breen +2m36s
6 Evans +5m14.8s
SS17
1 Latvala 11m06.3s
2 Tanak +9.1s
3 Paddon +13.6s
4 Ogier +14.7s
5 Sordo +16.3s
6 Breen +18.5s
After SS17 overall
1 Latvala 2h27m12.5s
2 Tanak +20s
3 Ogier +58.3s
4 Sordo +2m03.5s
5 Breen +2m36s
6 Evans +5m14.8s
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A jubilant Latvala reaches stage end and who can blame him.
"It was a good stage again," says Latvala. "It's been the best stage on the rally, nice grip. Now we need to stay cool on the last stage and try to enjoy it."
His team-mate Hanninen has hit a bridge.
"It was a good stage again," says Latvala. "It's been the best stage on the rally, nice grip. Now we need to stay cool on the last stage and try to enjoy it."
His team-mate Hanninen has hit a bridge.
Stopwatch
LATVALA TAKES 9.1s OUT OF TANAK!
That's got to be game over? The lead is up to 20s.
That's got to be game over? The lead is up to 20s.
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Tanak has resigned himself to second.
"We have no choice [but to settle for second]," says Tanak. "We are not competitive enough today. I'm trying hard."
"We have no choice [but to settle for second]," says Tanak. "We are not competitive enough today. I'm trying hard."
Stopwatch
Here's Tanak, he goes 4.5s quicker than Paddon. But Latvala is set to overturn that.
Stopwatch
Ogier is in and he's only 1.1s slower than Paddon. He can't be saving tyres too much there.
At the second split, Latvala is just under 7s up on Tanak. He took the same amount of time out of Tanak on the first run of this stage earlier.
At the second split, Latvala is just under 7s up on Tanak. He took the same amount of time out of Tanak on the first run of this stage earlier.
Stopwatch
Latvala is just under four seconds up on Tanak and the Finn is on fire through here. This is a phenomenal performance from Latvala.
Sordo has settled into second on the stage, 2.7s slower than Paddon.
Sordo has settled into second on the stage, 2.7s slower than Paddon.
Stopwatch
Craig Breen completes and he's 4.9s down on Paddon. He's on an island in fifth overall.
Stopwatch
Tanak is the fastest driver through the first split so far. We eagerly await Latvala's comparative time.
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Evans has sorted the engine issue now but still drops plenty to Paddon. The Kiwi is only 8.7s behind now.
"We've sorted it, all good on that [engine] side," says Evans. "It was very slippery, struggling to get the car stopped for the junctions."
"We've sorted it, all good on that [engine] side," says Evans. "It was very slippery, struggling to get the car stopped for the junctions."
Sordo, Ogier, Tanak and Latvala are all into the stage.
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More importantly for Paddon, he's 10s quicker than Elfyn Evans at the final split. Elfyn, sixth overall, is only 22s ahead of Paddon. That's set to tumble.
Stopwatch
Paddon completes with our first representative time, he's 27.9s up on Lefebvre.
Reports from the stage that Meeke had a spin and lost time.
Reports from the stage that Meeke had a spin and lost time.
Stopwatch
Lefebvre is through and he's 23.7s quicker than Meeke despite being in the older car.
But that's more down to Meeke either saving tyres or suffering from a problem.
Lefebvre confirms it's more slippery than the first pass.
But that's more down to Meeke either saving tyres or suffering from a problem.
Lefebvre confirms it's more slippery than the first pass.
Stopwatch
Meeke completes and goes fastest, only 6.4s quicker than Gorban.
He doesn't want to talk at stage end so there could be a problem.
On the first pass of this stage, he was just under a minute faster.
He doesn't want to talk at stage end so there could be a problem.
On the first pass of this stage, he was just under a minute faster.
Stopwatch
Valeriy Gorban is at stage end and manages a 12m17.9s. He did a 12m14.1s on the first run through the stage.
Evans, Breen and Sordo are into the stage.
Stopwatch
So, the first 2017-spec car at speed is Hayden Paddon. He's 21.5s behind sixth-placed Elfyn Evans, who has a problem. The Kiwi will be pushing to overturn him.
Stopwatch
At the first split, Kris Meeke is only 0.2s up on Valeriy Gorban. Is that a mistake/problem or is he saving tyres for the powerstage?
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Green flag
Our stage is underway with Valeriy Gorban underway in his 2016-spec Mini John Cooper Works WRC.
The man who drove that car for Mini in-period, Kris Meeke, is also into the stage in his 2017-spec Citroen. He crashed out of fifth yesterday.
The man who drove that car for Mini in-period, Kris Meeke, is also into the stage in his 2017-spec Citroen. He crashed out of fifth yesterday.
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Something to watch on this stage; Ott Tanak doesn't have a mechanical problem with his Ford Fiesta but complained about a loose rear-end on the last stage. He wasn't happy with the car and was straight on the phone to the team in service to fix it.
The third M-Sport entry of Elfyn Evans was running on three cylinders, but the DMACK team believe Elfyn has fixed the problem in the liaison section.
The third M-Sport entry of Elfyn Evans was running on three cylinders, but the DMACK team believe Elfyn has fixed the problem in the liaison section.
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As you can see below, Sebastien Ogier spun on the first corner of the last stage and removed himself from the lead battle.
If you watch the video, he only would have lost two or three seconds with the spin. It was taking so long to get the Fiesta fired and going again that cost him over 10s.
If you watch the video, he only would have lost two or three seconds with the spin. It was taking so long to get the Fiesta fired and going again that cost him over 10s.
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David Evans
And, of course, Autosport Live always brings you a guide to the impending stage. DAVID EVANS outlines this one:
SS16/17 Likenas (13.14 miles)
"Never used in this direction before, this stretch of road hasn’t been seen on the Rally Sweden schedule since 2011.
"Starting close to a river just north of Ambjorby, the opening section is twisty and quite technical with lots of junctions before the road opens out and speeds up as it heads north.
"The middle section is really fast – particularly the run up to a square left which is about the most northerly stretch on the route. The finish gets twistier again as it comes down into Likenas itself."
SS16/17 Likenas (13.14 miles)
"Never used in this direction before, this stretch of road hasn’t been seen on the Rally Sweden schedule since 2011.
"Starting close to a river just north of Ambjorby, the opening section is twisty and quite technical with lots of junctions before the road opens out and speeds up as it heads north.
"The middle section is really fast – particularly the run up to a square left which is about the most northerly stretch on the route. The finish gets twistier again as it comes down into Likenas itself."
By: Matt Beer
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