Dual World Champion Sebastien Ogier snatched a dramatic victory for Volkswagen after a titanic three-car tussle in the final snowy kilometres of Rally Sweden today.
Andreas Mikkelsen lost the lead when he spun on the final stage of the Swedish Rally.Teammate Andreas Mikkelsen held a 3.0sec advantage going into the closing 15.87km Power Stage and was looking to score his maiden win in the FIA World Rally Championship.
The young Norwegian maintained the lead until the final third of the stage, when his Volkswagen Polo R touched a snowbank and spun.
Time Mikkelsen lost recovering was enough to confirm a second straight 2015 victory for Ogier, who also won the Power Stage and its bonus points with a blazing drive 5.0sec faster than second-placed Thierry Neuville.
Neuville, Ogier and Mikkelsen started the last stage with merely 4.6sec between them after more than 290kms’ racing since Thursday night across a spectacular winter landscape in Sweden and Norway.
The Belgian Neuville had led overnight in his Hyundai i20 after winning the final speed test on Saturday and ending a run of 10 straight wins by Mikkelsen, who had caught another snowbank while under pressure from his rivals.
Mikkelsen regained the lead on the first of today’s three stages, stalked from third spot and then second by the maestro Ogier, who exclaimed jubilantly at the finish he had driven “flat out” to take the final step to the top of the podium.
Neuville finished the Power Stage and the rally in second place, 6.4sec behind Ogier, while Mikkelsen was relegated to third, a further 33.4sec back.
Ogier now has a big early lead in his points chase for a third straight title. Neuville and Mikkelsen are equal-second while the third Volkswagen driver, Jari-Matti Latvala, remains fourth in the standings despite scoring no points in Sweden.
Belgian Ott Tanak drove a steady event to finish fourth for his Ford-powered M-Sport team, while New Zealander Hayden Paddon scored the best finish of his short WRC career, fifth in a Hyundai i20.
After two winter rallies to start the season, drivers in the world’s toughest championship tackle conditions at the opposite extreme for round three, the rough gravel roads and power-sapping Andean altitude of Rally Guanajuato Mexico on 5-8 March.
The WRC visits the New South Wales Coffs Coast for Round 10, Rally Australia on 10-13 September.
RESULTS, Rally Sweden (Rd 2 of 13):
1. S Ogier/ J Ingrassia (Volkswagen) Total time 2 hr 55 min 30.5 sec
2. T Neuville/ N Gilsoul (Hyundai) Behind winner +6.4 sec
3. A Mikkelsen/O Floene (Volkswagen) +39.8
4. O Tanak/R Molder (Ford) +2:26.0
5. H Paddon/J Kennard +3:31.5
6. E Evans/ D Barritt (Ford) +3:53.0
7. K Meeke/P Nagle (Citroen) +4:05.8
8. M Prokop/J Tomanek (Ford) +4:26.0
9. Y Protasov/P Cherepin (Ford) +5:32.2
10. M Ostberg/J Andersson (Citroen) +6:50.9
FIA Drivers standings (after Rd 2):
1. S Ogier 53 points
2.= T Neuville/A Mikkelsen 30
4. J-M Latvala 19
5. M Ostberg 14
FIA Manufacturers standings (after Rd 2):
1. Volkswagen Motorsport 68
2. Hyundai Motorsport 55
3. M-Sport WRT 32
4. Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT 20
5. Volkswagen Motorsport II 15
Next round:
Rd 3, Rally Guanajuato Mexico 5-8 March 2015
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