WRC Rally Sweden: Tyre strategy helps Neuville extend his lead
Thierry Neuville added to his Rally Sweden lead on Saturday afternoon's loop as he and nearest challenger Craig Breen opted for different tyre strategies.

With gravel beginning to protrude from the icy roads on the second run through the Torntorp and Hagfors stages in particular, most crews - including the three Hyundai contenders - opted to take two spare tyres for the remainder of the day that includes the Karlstad and Torsby stages later this evening.
In pursuit of his first World Rally Championship win, Breen was an outlier in this regard as he and the M-Sport Ford runners opted for a single spare, and immediately got closer to Hyundai's leader at the head of the standings with his third stage win of the rally on SS12.
But Neuville, who had spun earlier in the day, hit back on the following Hagfors stage and set the fastest time of all by 6.6 seconds, extending his earlier advantage of 4.6s over Citroen man Breen to 14s.
Neuville produced another stage win on the final test of the loop, the repeat run of Vargasen, to end the afternoon with 18.8s in hand over the lighter C3 WRC of Breen.
Andreas Mikkelsen had no repeat of the spin on SS10 in his own Hyundai that briefly cost him a top three spot, and gradually pulled away from the third i20 of Hayden Paddon after the New Zealander got within two tenths of third place on SS12.
Mads Ostberg changed his set-up again before the start of the second loop and reported he felt far more comfortable by the end of the Vargasen stage.
The Norwegian, who is making a one-off appearance in a Citroen C3 this weekend, dropped away from the fight for the final podium position but stabilised his buffer back to the leading Toyota Yaris of Esapekka Lappi with the fifth fastest time on SS14. The gap betwen the two is now 8.4s.
Jari-Matti Latvala was a frustrated seventh in his Yaris, complaining at the end of the final stage of the loop that his car was "not OK' and its transmission was "all over the place".
He has 16.2s in hand over the leading M-Sport Ford Fiesta of Teemu Suninen, who moved up to eighth on Saturday afternoon after Ott Tanak encountered more frustration.
Kris Meeke's engine cut out after the Citroen driver hit a snowbank on SS13 and, while he was able to get going again, was slow for the remainder of the stage and was soon caught by Tanak.
The Estonian attempted to pass Meeke, but the pair were involved in an incident on one of the narrower parts of the road that meant Tanak forfeited more than a minute and a half on the stage.
Citroen announced after the stage that it had retired Meeke, who had been 10th, from the rally.
His demise promoted Sebastien Ogier - winner of the season opening Monte Carlo Rally - into 10th in his M-Sport Ford.
Follow live updates from the final two stages of Rally Sweden's Saturday action with Autosport from 4:45pm UK time
Leading positions
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Thierry Neuville, N.Gilsoul | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai | 2h19m15.6s |
2 | Craig Breen, S.Martin | Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT | Citroen | 18.8s |
3 | Andreas Mikkelsen, A.Jager | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai | 30.8s |
4 | Hayden Paddon, S.Marshall | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai | 38.4s |
5 | Mads Ostberg, T.Eriksen | Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT | Citroen | 56.5s |
6 | Esapekka Lappi, J.Ferm | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota | 1m04.9s |
7 | Jari-Matti Latvala, M.Anttila | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota | 1m59.9s |
8 | Teemu Suninen, M.Markkula | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford | 2m16.1s |
9 | Ott Tanak, M.Jarveoja | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota | 3m41.1s |
10 | Sebastien Ogier, J.Ingrassia | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford | 4m22.1s |
11 | Elfyn Evans, D.Barritt | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford | 4m49.0s |

WRC Rally Sweden: Neuville keeps hold of lead as Breen closes in
WRC Rally Sweden: Neuville heads Breen into final Rally Sweden day

Why WRC's Safari tour is more than just a rally
OPINION: A source of national pride in Kenya, the Safari Rally is also a sporting, cultural and economic phenomenon. And as last weekend's World Rally Championship round reminded us, it's a key driver in establishing Africa’s place in world motorsport
How Rovanpera tamed a wild Safari Rally
The Safari Rally acted as a brutal test of driver and car resolve as multiple retirements opened the path for a historic Toyota 1-2-3-4 triumph, headed by star Kalle Rovanpera. But keeping things clean was only half of the challenge, as a well-timed charge when conditions worsened allowed the Finn to take control
How Tanak turned the tables to deliver Hyundai a timely WRC triumph
The 2019 champion has been a bit-part player recently, but Ott Tanak ended a 15-month drought in fine style with a dominant win in Sardinia. On a weekend when championship leader Kalle Rovanpera struggled with cleaning the road, his Hyundai rival has made his belated arrival into the title race and given cause for those predicting a walkover from the Toyota star to pause
How Rovanpera overcame rallying royalty in Portugal to extend his WRC lead
Although the Rally Portugal entry list featured World Rally Championship royalty in Sebastiens Loeb and Ogier, victory was secured by rallying's rising star in Kalle Rovanpera. Here's the story of his 2022 hat-trick, as his key rivals faltered among the gravel and asphalt ahead of them
The former WRC star playing the unsung hero role for Rovanpera
Kalle Rovanpera’s 2022 World Rally Championship displays have been spectacular, with the Toyota driver benefitting from a secret weapon in his crew to win two of the opening three rallies. But while the former challenger to Sebastien Loeb won’t take credit for his fellow Finn's performances, a key bond has been formed which could prove key to Rovanpera’s title charge
How Rovanpera's Croatia turnaround sent a message to his WRC rivals
After a dominating Rally Croatia, a wrong tyre choice on the final day looked to have undone all Kalle Rovanpera's hard work and left him with a mountain to climb heading into the power stage. That he emerged the winner all the same has surely quelled any lingering doubts that the Finn is the man to beat in the 2022 WRC
How M-Sport's faith in Loubet led to a WRC reprieve after a dismal 2021
It's fair to say 2021 was a year to forget for Pierre-Louis Loubet. A maiden full World Rally Championship season offered hope but soon turned into a nightmare that ended in hospital, after being hit by a car in a road traffic accident. Now handed a lifeline by M-Sport, the Frenchman is desperate to rebuild his career
Why WRC mechanics deserve more respect
The drivers get the glare of attention, but it’s the mechanics who are key to the operation of any World Rally Championship car. Autosport donned a set of overalls and joined M-Sport on a Belgian national rally event to get an inside look into the trials and tribulations of a rally mechanic