OTT TÄNAK’S RALLY SWEDEN LEAD APPROACHED THE MINUTE MARK ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON BUT THE FIGHT FOR THE REMAINING PODIUM PLACES BECAME EVER TIGHTER.Tänak won the second passes through Rämmen and Hagfors in his Toyota Yaris to stretch his advantage to 51.7sec, but less than 18sec blanketed the following quartet as they continued to trade places.
“Conditions in Rämmen were like driving on a railway, with so much grip. The next one was a lot harder but we kept steady and in the lines,” he said.
Andreas Mikkelsen retained second, but his advantage was less than comfortable after an unplanned visit into the Hagfors snow. “I lost the grip and ended in a snowbank. We were lucky to get out,” explained the Norwegian, who dropped almost 10sec in his Hyundai i20.
The excursion left him 7.0sec clear of an inspired Esapekka Lappi (pictured), who demoted both Elfyn Evans and Thierry Neuville in Rämmen. Rising temperatures meant the roads were slushier then this morning’s pass and Lappi admitted driving was a bigger challenge.
“To be on the pace and to be off completely is a much thinner line than in the first pass. Lose the car in the slush and you can lose the whole race,” said the Citroen C3 pilot.
Neuville was fourth, a further 3.2sec behind in his i20. The Belgian had a wary eye on today’s remaining stages, managing his tyres in the knowledge the afternoon loop is longer than this morning.
Elfyn Evans was fourth in Rämmen but lost crucial seconds in Hagfors with a ‘mountain of oversteer’. The Welshman dropped from third at service to fifth, 7.5sec behind Neuville.
Kris Meeke’s bid to stay in the podium scrap faded and the Yaris driver was more than 20sec further adrift.
Teemu Suninen’s recovery from this morning’s error continued to gain momentum and the Finn moved ahead of Sébastien Loeb into seventh – only to fall behind again in Hagfors.
Top 15 classification after SS11 at Rally Sweden, the second round of the 2019 World Rally Championship.
1. Ott Tanak EST Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing 1hr 43m 32.7s
2. Andreas Mikkelsen NOR Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +33.8s
3. Elfyn Evans GBR M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC +50.7s
4. Thierry Neuville BEL Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 51.8s
6. Kris Meeke GBR Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing +58.8s
7. Sebastien Loeb FRA Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +1m 15.1s
8. Teemu Suninen FIN M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC +1m 24.1s
9. Pontus Tidemand SWE M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC +2m 18.4s
10. Ole Christian Veiby NOR Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 +3m 59.6s
11. Johan Kristoffersson SWE Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 +4m 26.9s
12. Jari Huttunen FIN Skoda Fabia R5 +4m 28.0s
13. Mads Ostberg NOR Citroen Total C3 R5 +5m 03.1s
14. Emil Lindholm FIN Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 +5m 14.4s
15. Emil Bergkvist SWE Ford Fiesta R5 +5m 25.8s
Retirements
Jari-Matti Latvala FIN Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing SS8 Accident*
Sebastien Ogier FRA Citroen C3 WRC SS6 Accident*
Marcus Gronholm FIN Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing SS4 Accident*
Source: WRC and Crash