SS16: Rovanpera in command
Finland's Harri Rovanpera is in prime position to win the 2001 Swedish International Rally after extending his lead over countryman Tommi Makinen on the penultimate stage of the event
The 34-year-old, driving a Peugeot 206 WRC, now has an 18-second advantage over Makinen with just one stage to go - the 21.21km Hagfors test. Rovanpera was fourth quickest on SS16, while closest challenger Makinen could only manage the seventh fastest time on the stage.
The 23.41km Rammen 2 section, a rerun of SS14, was again dominated by the charging Subarus of Richard Burns and Markko Martin. Englishman Burns was a remarkable 10 seconds clear of his Estonian team mate, while Colin McRae was a further two seconds back in third. McRae is still lying in 10th place overall and is looking good to pick a manufacturers' point for Ford. However, the Scot is seven seconds behind the Hyundai of Kenneth Eriksson so he may well be pushing hard on the last stage to snatch two points for Ford - which at the start of the day's stages seemed an unlikely scenario.
The battle for third place overall has swung back in favour of homegrown talent Thomas Radstrom. This morning, the Swede has been fighting off a challenge from Carlos Sainz in the Ford, and had seen his 12-second overnight advantage cut to just two seconds on SS15. However the Mitsubishi driver has fought back and his fifth fastest time on SS16 means his lead over Spaniard Sainz has crept up to four seconds.
The competitors now go back to service and regroup before facing the last challenge of the Swedish Rally.
Richard Burns (GB)/Robert Reid(GB), Subaru Impreza WRC*, 12m16.2s
Markko Martin (EST)/Michael Park (GB), Subaru Impreza WRC, 12m26.4s
Colin McRae (GB)/Nicky Grist(GB), Ford Focus RS WRC*, 12m28.3s
Harri Rovanpera (FIN)/Risto Pietilainen (FIN), Peugeot 206 WRC, 12m28.9s
Thomas Radstrom (S)/Tina Thorner (S), Mitsubishi Carisma GT, 12m30.0s
Carlos Sainz (E)/Luis Moya(E), Ford Focus RS WRC*, 12m32.1s
Harri Rovanpera (FIN)/Risto Pietilainen (FIN), Peugeot 206 WRC, 3h14m05.8s
Tommi Makinen (FIN)/Risto Mannisenmaki(FIN), Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution*, +0:18.6s
Thomas Radstrom (S)/Tina Thorner (S), Mitsubishi Carisma GT, +0:25.6s
Carlos Sainz (E)/Luis Moya(E), Ford Focus RS WRC*, +0:29.8
Francois Delecour (F)/Daniel Grataloup (F), Ford Focus RS WRC, +2m11.1s
Toni Gardemeister (FIN)/ Paavo Lukander (FIN), Peugeot 206 WRC, +2m17.4s
*denotes nominated for manufacturers' championship points
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