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WRC Rally Sweden 2019
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Neuville could go forwards here after all. He's got 1.8s in arrears to Kris Meeke heading into Torsby and Meeke is 1.5s down on Neuville's second split time.
Tanak's 8.5s up on Neuville now. That's quite extraordinary when you consider this stage is barely over five miles long.
Neuville clocks a 6m02.1s, which he's visibly unhappy about for some reason.
Tanak is 5.4s up on Neuville, to give you an idea of the pace difference. Though those two won't really care what the other is doing right now; they've got different fish to fry. Maybe lutefisk, given the bit of the world we're in right now.
Neuville sets off on the final Friday stage. He's got Lappi only 1.1s behind him right now, so he'd better get a move on if he doesn't want to end up ninth overall and one place higher in the road order tomorrow.
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Petter Solberg had been looking forward to this stage as part of the Rally Sweden Historic event, which he currently leads. Alas, with three passes across three days and question marks over the surface's ability to last until its appearance as the Power Stage on Sunday, they cancelled the stage for Solberg and his Historic cohorts.
So, he'll have to settle for telling us Autosport readers what to expect from Torsby instead.
SS8 Torsby (5.54 miles)
This is the same as last year, except it’s 630 metres shorter than last time and the jump – which comes just before the finish – has been changed a little bit. We start with some twisty bits before the hairpin left that takes you down to the lake and then we’re alongside the service park, where all the mechanics and basically everybody can watch – we don’t want to get this bit wrong! The stage finishes and then comes straight into service, which is cool if you’re ready for a cup of tea.
The final section of this stage has been used quite a lot on the event (it’s Saturday’s final test in the Torsby Sprint format which uses the final 1.73 miles of the stage) which is why the organisers water this road, to make the ice thicker. With the days being a bit warmer, this stage could be quite rutted and bumpy in places, especially near the end.
So, he'll have to settle for telling us Autosport readers what to expect from Torsby instead.
SS8 Torsby (5.54 miles)
This is the same as last year, except it’s 630 metres shorter than last time and the jump – which comes just before the finish – has been changed a little bit. We start with some twisty bits before the hairpin left that takes you down to the lake and then we’re alongside the service park, where all the mechanics and basically everybody can watch – we don’t want to get this bit wrong! The stage finishes and then comes straight into service, which is cool if you’re ready for a cup of tea.
The final section of this stage has been used quite a lot on the event (it’s Saturday’s final test in the Torsby Sprint format which uses the final 1.73 miles of the stage) which is why the organisers water this road, to make the ice thicker. With the days being a bit warmer, this stage could be quite rutted and bumpy in places, especially near the end.
Right, hello again everyone. One last stage to go today before the Friday afternoon loop of Rally Sweden comes to a close; Torsby. That's the bigger 5.54 mile test, not the very short 'Torsby Sprint' which we'll finish with on Saturday.
We're going to take a very short break before the day-ending Torsby stage, which kicks off in a little over 20 minutes' time. We'll be back shortly before kick-off. See you shortly!
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WRC2 PRO classification after SS7 Rojden 2
1. Ostberg 1h08m33.1s
2. Rovanpera +1m30.8s
3. Greensmith +2m25.2s
4. Pietarinen +5m27.5s
1. Ostberg 1h08m33.1s
2. Rovanpera +1m30.8s
3. Greensmith +2m25.2s
4. Pietarinen +5m27.5s
Turning to WRC2 Pro for a moment, Citroen factory driver Mads Ostberg's lead looked safe. He had over two minutes in hand to Skoda's young charger Kalle Rovanpera, after the Finn planted his Fabia R5 into a snowbank.
But the tide is changing. Rovanpera has gained over half a minute over Ostberg in the last two stages. If he keeps pace up we could have a lead battle by Saturday afternoon!
But the tide is changing. Rovanpera has gained over half a minute over Ostberg in the last two stages. If he keeps pace up we could have a lead battle by Saturday afternoon!
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Anyway, onto the overall top 10. It just keeps on changing! Evans and Loeb are in the ascendancy, while Neuville continues to go in the opposite direction. And he might lose another position in the next stage too.
Overall classification after SS7 Rojden 2
1. Suninen 1h05m01.1s
2. Latvala +5.0s
3. Tanak + 13.0s
4. Mikkelsen +27.2s
5. Evans +34.9s
6. Loeb +51.5s
7. Meeke +53.0s
8. Neuville +54.8s
9. Lappi +55.9s
10. Tidemand +1m25.3s
Overall classification after SS7 Rojden 2
1. Suninen 1h05m01.1s
2. Latvala +5.0s
3. Tanak + 13.0s
4. Mikkelsen +27.2s
5. Evans +34.9s
6. Loeb +51.5s
7. Meeke +53.0s
8. Neuville +54.8s
9. Lappi +55.9s
10. Tidemand +1m25.3s
In other experiences that don't sound much fun at all, Janne Tuohino reports he hit a huge rock. But doesn't have a puncture, so that's a bonus.
Also it's just one light pod that's left, the right hand one. The left has disappeared entirely. I hope he's eaten his carrots because his night vision will get a good workout on Torsby.
Lorenzo Bertelli's lightpod was flailing around for the last couple of miles of that stage. He's lucky they didn't fall off – he'll need them for the upcoming Torsby stage!
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And below is what the last 30-odd minutes looks like in terms of stage results;
SS7 Rojden stage results
1. Evans +8m41.7s
2. Latvala +4.4s
2. Loeb +4.4s
4. Suninen +5.1s
5. Mikkelsen +6.3s
6. Tanak +10.1s
7. Lappi +10.9s
8. Tidemand +13.1s
9. Neuville +14.8s
10. Meeke +19.2s
SS7 Rojden stage results
1. Evans +8m41.7s
2. Latvala +4.4s
2. Loeb +4.4s
4. Suninen +5.1s
5. Mikkelsen +6.3s
6. Tanak +10.1s
7. Lappi +10.9s
8. Tidemand +13.1s
9. Neuville +14.8s
10. Meeke +19.2s
M-Sport has really been the star of this afternoon loop. Suninen has moved into the lead, passing Tanak and repassing Latvala, and Evans is charging through with two stage wins.
Stopwatch
That's a stage-winning time from Elfyn Evans. An 8m41.7s. He nicks fifth place off Meeke, who now drops to seventh, and is only 7.7s off fourth placed Mikkelsen.
Lappi gains 3.9s on Neuville. He stays ninth for now but he's only 1.1s away from snatching that position away in the next test.
Mikkelsen is fourth fastest through this stage which, unsurprisingly, means he remains fourth.
"I tried to use the words tyres here and save the best ones for the next stage," he comments at stage end. He's only 1.9s off joint fastest pair Latvala and Loeb here, so that strategy might pan out well for him.
It keeps Loeb – who's now up to fifth – and Meeke at arms length, which is always a plus.
"I tried to use the words tyres here and save the best ones for the next stage," he comments at stage end. He's only 1.9s off joint fastest pair Latvala and Loeb here, so that strategy might pan out well for him.
It keeps Loeb – who's now up to fifth – and Meeke at arms length, which is always a plus.
Tidemand clocks an 8m54.8s. His 10th place is safe for another stage.
Evans is fastest at first split. Lappi is second fastest and Mikkelsen third fastest. Those drivers are listed in reverse order of when they entered the stage. Running later is better at the moment, it seems!
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"We were taking a bit careful with this stage and looked like we should push more, but of course there's high risk when there's lots of rocks and no snow," says Suninen at stage end.
If playing it safe leads to only 0.7 lost, that's probably a price worth paying.
If playing it safe leads to only 0.7 lost, that's probably a price worth paying.
Stopwatch
Suninen is the next car through and he's lost a little bit of time here, 0.7s to be exact. His lead is now dead on five seconds.
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"I tried to do what I can do. It will be interesting to see with Teemu. There's not much I could have done," says Latvala.
Stopwatch
Latvala sets the exact same time as Loeb! But, more importantly for the Finn, he's 5.7s faster than Tanak and boosts his advantage over his Toyota team-mate to 8s.
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"OK, good. I tried really hard in this one," says Loeb. "I know I need some places to gain for road position tomorrow."
There's that phrase cropping up again. Road position. Expect it to come up a lot on the next stage's interviews!
There's that phrase cropping up again. Road position. Expect it to come up a lot on the next stage's interviews!
Loeb's increased pace from the last stage has continued here, clocking in 5.7s ahead of Tanak for the fastest time so far.
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"I don't know what happened," says Meeke of his stall at stage end, after setting the slowest time thus far.
"My dash said I was in first gear and when I dropped the clutch, it was in second, so something strange. Not what we needed when we're fighting for road position."
"My dash said I was in first gear and when I dropped the clutch, it was in second, so something strange. Not what we needed when we're fighting for road position."
Latvala had 2.3s in hand over his Toyota team-mate before this stage; he's now gained another 0.8s over Tanak by the second split.
Tanak is in, faster than Neuville, with an 8m51.8s. But more importantly he's tied with Latvala and only 0.2s down on Suninen at the first split, as all three battle for the lead.
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"Being first on the road and some guys running very far back, there's no chance," says Neuville as he finishes his run.
The conditions are also brought up once more by the Hyundai team leader.
"It's not a snow rally anymore, it's gravel with some slush around."
The conditions are also brought up once more by the Hyundai team leader.
"It's not a snow rally anymore, it's gravel with some slush around."
Loeb in ninth is only 7.1s behind seventh-placed Neuville, so every second counts here. Loeb's already picked up one of said seconds in the first split alone and is the fastest car through so far.
And the damage report is in; Meeke is 3.3s down on Neuville at the first split. Though with Evans only 1.1s behind going into this stage, it might cost Meeke fifth.
Meeke stalls at the start. A handful of seconds lost and he's on his way.
Neuville gets us underway. Elfyn Evans is 5.1s ahead and Esapekka Lappi is 5s behind – so this stage could end either way for him.
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Rally Sweden Historic has wrapped up for the day and Petter Solberg is leading, with 46.8s in hand to his nearest rival.
Here's what to expect from our next stage, courtesy of Mr Solberg himself.
SS7 Rojden (11.24 miles)
This is really the perfect stage for Pernilla and me. It starts in her country then crosses the border to my home in Norway before it goes back over to Sweden for the finish. The organisers have added a kilometre and a half to the end. The actual driving for this one is not easy, the road is really not so easy, with plenty of tricky places and off-camber corners. It’s really fast as you climb the hill with lots of little bumps and crests – the feeling in the car on this one is really nice. Towards the end there’s one really slippery junction for a square left – everybody seems to have a bit of a moment here.
Here's what to expect from our next stage, courtesy of Mr Solberg himself.
SS7 Rojden (11.24 miles)
This is really the perfect stage for Pernilla and me. It starts in her country then crosses the border to my home in Norway before it goes back over to Sweden for the finish. The organisers have added a kilometre and a half to the end. The actual driving for this one is not easy, the road is really not so easy, with plenty of tricky places and off-camber corners. It’s really fast as you climb the hill with lots of little bumps and crests – the feeling in the car on this one is really nice. Towards the end there’s one really slippery junction for a square left – everybody seems to have a bit of a moment here.
And there's no pause before our next stage, which starts in three minutes with Neuville, not Ogier, kicking off proceedings. Buckle up!
Citroen has suggested on social media that Ogier is out for the day and returning under Rally2 tomorrow. But Pierre Budar, Citroen's team principal, has been less committal when interviewed on TV. Either way, he'll mostly be in it for manufacturer points for the rest of the rally, with a top 10 finish a tough ask given the huge WRC2 field this weekend.
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Above is the replay of Neuville passing Ogier. It's no-mans land. Yet, somehow, GPS data is suggesting Ogier might be on the move again. If so, he'll be well down but not necessarily out.
By: Matt Beer
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