Swedish Rally win within Neuville’s grasp after Day 2

18th February 2018, 9:40am
by

Thierry Neuville finally broke clear of the chasing pack on Saturday to move within touching distance of becoming only the third non-Nordic driver to win Rally Sweden. The Belgian soaked up intense pressure for almost two days to protect a lead that never rose above a handful of seconds, before attacking himself to open a 22.7sec advantage with Sunday's short leg remaining. The Hyundai i20 driver is determined to make up for last year when he crashed out of a comfortable lead, and join French legends Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier in taming the snow and ice rally. He fended off Craig Breen, eager to claim a maiden WRC victory, and team-mates Andreas Mikkelsen and Hayden Paddon before trebling his lead with a stunning performance to win the gravelly 23.40km Hagfors speed test this afternoon. A glitch with his car's paddle shift gearchange and a spin threatened to derail Neuville this morning. Mikkelsen, his closest challenger at the time, pirouetted at the same place and could not take advantage of his colleague's error.

Mads Ostberg continued to impress on what has been a good event for Citroen. Photo: Red Bull

That spin cost the Norwegian dear. He dropped to fourth and although he quickly regained third from Paddon, he could do nothing to reel in Irishman Breen and trailed him by 9.3sec. It was an accomplished performance by Breen, whose only concern came when his Citroën C3 swiped a snow bank. He gambled on carrying just one spare wheel this afternoon to save weight but could do nothing to halt the leader's charge. Paddon's car set-up was unsuited to this morning's forest roads and the New Zealander lost a handful of seconds stuck on the inside of a hairpin in the final stage to end 16.6sec behind Mikkelsen. Mads Østberg was distanced by the battling quartet. The Norwegian changed his C3's settings as he searched for improved balance but the switches affected his confidence and he reversed the adjustments. Esapekka Lappi headed a trio of Finns in sixth, 9.0sec behind Østberg and almost a minute clear of Toyota Yaris team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala, who struggled with differential issues. Teemu Suninen, making only his third World Rally Car start, slipped to eighth in his Ford Fiesta, with Ott Tänak and Sébastien Ogier completing the leaderboard.

Sebastien Ogier is still out of the points, thanks to a dismal first two days in Sweden. Photo: Red Bull

Tänak won three stages but was involved in a bizarre incident with Kris Meeke which cost him two minutes and ended with the Briton's retirement. Meeke nosed into a snow bank but lost engine power when he regained the road. He stopped to clean snow from his C3's cooling system and as Tänak tried to pass in a narrow section, the two cars collided and the Estonian's Yaris bounced into a ditch. Sunday is the shortest leg with just three stages covering 51.94km. After two passes through the Likenäs test, the rally ends with the lunchtime Torsby Power Stage, which offers bonus points to the fastest five drivers. Classification after Day Two

1	T. Neuville	N. Gilsoul	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	2:23:23.8
2	C. Breen	S. Martin	Citroën C3 WRC	+22.7
3	A. Mikkelsen	A. Jæger	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	+32.0
4	H. Paddon	S. Marshall	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	+48.6
5	M. Østberg	T. Eriksen	Citroën C3 WRC	+56.8
6	E. Lappi	J. Ferm	Toyota Yaris WRC	+1:05.8
7	J. M. Latvala	M. Anttila	Toyota Yaris WRC	+2:03.3
8	T. Suninen	M. Markkula	Ford Fiesta WRC	+2:20.5
9	O. Tänak	M. Järveoja	Toyota Yaris WRC	+3:41.3
10	S. Ogier	J. Ingrassia	Ford Fiesta WRC	+4:24.9

Love rallying? You’ve come to the right place.

Our team share the passion for rallying.

A subscription to RallySport Magazine gives you superior rally content from Australia, New Zealand and around the world – with deals, offers and experiences nobody can match. Our team is dedicated to providing an unrivalled experience that shares, supports and promotes the sport of rallying.

BASIC MEMBERSHIP

$79.99 / yearSign up now

$7.49 / monthSign up now

PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP

$171.00 / yearSign up now

$14.25 / monthSign up now

Swedish Rally win within Neuville’s grasp after Day 2

Related news:

SUBSCRIBE BELOW TO READ THE FULL STORY

Love rallying? You’ve come to the right place.

BASIC MEMBERSHIP

PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP

Show Your Support

Author

Willett secures ex-Paddon WRX for rallying return

Gill and Brkic open Chile with rapid shakedown pace

Decisive Chile clash awaits Evans, Pajari

Flinders to Fleurieu still working on 2027 date

Gill and Brkic open Chile with rapid shakedown pace

Decisive Chile clash awaits Evans, Pajari

Toksport helps lift Gill ahead of Chile

Paddon’s reveals next steps with Hyundai

Swedish Rally win within Neuville’s grasp after Day 2

Related news:

SUBSCRIBE BELOW TO READ THE FULL STORY

Love rallying? You’ve come to the right place.

BASIC MEMBERSHIP

PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP

Show Your Support

Author

Trending Posts...

You might also like...