WRC Rally Sweden: Neuville heads Breen into final Rally Sweden day
Hyundai World Rally Championship driver Thierry Neuville will carry a 22.7-second lead over Craig Breen into the final day of Rally Sweden after safely negotiating Saturday's evening stages
Neuville extended his lead on Saturday afternoon's loop, and bolstered that by another 3.9s on the evening's Karlstad superspecial and Torsby sprint stages.
That included another win on the evening's final stage, and Neuville now has a little more than 32 miles standing between him and victory on the second round of the WRC season aboard his Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC.
Breen now has Andreas Mikkelsen for closer company in the battle for second place, with 9.3s in hand over the Hyundai driver ahead of Sunday's final two stages.
Hayden Paddon had offered Mikkelsen competition for third in his own i20, but the returning New Zealander was outside the top 10 on the Torsby stage after getting stuck in a snowbank and now has 8.2s in hand over the second Citroen of Mads Ostberg.
Ostberg, who reported in the afternoon that he was happier with the behaviour of his Citroen C3 after reverting to his original set-up, was fourth on the Torsby sprint and is in the middle of a relatively tight scrap with an advantage of nine seconds over the leading Toyota of Esapekka Lappi in sixth.
Jari-Matti Latvala remains seventh in his Toyota ahead of the leading M-Sport Ford Fiesta of Teemu Suninen, while Ott Tanak is ninth.
The Estonian backed up his fastest time from Thursday evening's opening Karlstad stage with the best time on the repeat run on Saturday, but is more than a minute behind the next car on the leaderboard after he was caught up behind Kris Meeke - who had an engine problem and has retired - in the afternoon.
Sebastien Ogier inherited a place in the points when Meeke retired, but is a lonely 10th - 43.6s behind Tanak and 28.8s ahead of the third M-Sport Ford Fiesta of Elfyn Evans in the battle for the final regular point.
Leading positions
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thierry Neuville, N.Gilsoul | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai | 2h23m23.8s |
| 2 | Craig Breen, S.Martin | Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT | Citroen | 22.7s |
| 3 | Andreas Mikkelsen, A.Jager | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai | 32.0s |
| 4 | Hayden Paddon, S.Marshall | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai | 48.6s |
| 5 | Mads Ostberg, T.Eriksen | Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT | Citroen | 56.8s |
| 6 | Esapekka Lappi, J.Ferm | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota | 1m05.8s |
| 7 | Jari-Matti Latvala, M.Anttila | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota | 2m03.3s |
| 8 | Teemu Suninen, M.Markkula | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford | 2m20.5s |
| 9 | Ott Tanak, M.Jarveoja | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota | 3m41.3s |
| 10 | Sebastien Ogier, J.Ingrassia | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford | 4m24.9s |
Previous article
WRC Rally Sweden: Tyre strategy helps Neuville extend his lead
Next article
WRC Rally Sweden: Neuville wins and takes points lead, Breen second
About this article
| Series | WRC |
| Drivers | Craig Breen , Thierry Neuville |
| Author | Jack Cozens |
Why the casualty of rallying's evolution should still be cherished
The WRC's support categories are in a process of streamlining that will spell the end of a formalised 2WD world championship-level category. While its relevance to the top level has been questioned for some time, that doesn't mean it should be swept quietly under the carpet
Why WRC's hybrid path could leave it at a crossroads
With all three major manufacturers committing to the World Rally Championship’s hybrid era from 2022, the future of the series is assured for now, but it could lead to trickier twists and turns further down the road
How Tanak froze out the competition at the Arctic Rally
Ott Tanak made up for a disastrous Monte Carlo Rally by leading all the way on the snow-kissed stages of the Arctic Rally Finland and in the process hit back at an event Toyota had been expected to dominate
What to expect from the WRC's venture to the Arctic
This week's Arctic Rally Finland will bring the World Rally Championship into new territory. And, almost without exception, the service park can't wait for the subzero challenge to commence
How Ogier achieved a fitting Monte Carlo farewell
Against pandemic-shaped odds, the World Rally Championship season opener went ahead in Monte Carlo last weekend as a familiar face again took top spot. But for an emotional Sebastien Ogier, his record-breaking eighth win meant more than most
What to look out for in the 2021 WRC
As the 2021 World Rally Championship prepares to launch amid tight COVID-19 restrictions in Monte Carlo, here are the eight things unrelated to the pandemic that you should keep an eye on this year
Evans on the talking points of WRC 2021
He came close to the title last year, and now Toyota's Elfyn Evans gives his verdict on what to expect from 2021 as the World Rally Championship prepares to reconvene for the Monte Carlo season opener
Why Britain's continued WRC absence is a wake-up call
OPINION: With Rally GB dropping off the World Rally Championship calendar for the second year in a row, one of Britain's best-attended sporting events faces an uncertain future. It's an unfortunate situation that points to troubling times ahead
