WRC – Rally Sweden preview images
The temperatures are set at minus degrees but the events will be hot when the FIA World Rally Championship returns to Sweden for the second part of the WRC’s new and exciting hybrid-driven Rally1 era next week.
From 24-27 February, the university city of Umeå – and the surrounding forests in the Västerbotten region – will be home to Rally Sweden, a founding round of the WRC 1973, but a remarkable absence in 2021 when covid-19 restrictions were forced. its cancellation.
The event’s long-awaited comeback marks unknown territory for the WRC and its drivers and team after the rally’s transition from its traditional Värmland hub to an alternative winter country in northeastern Sweden where 17 ice- and snow-covered stages await.
Although the move has resulted in the organizers delivering what is in practice a new rally, the expected Arctic conditions are set to contribute to another memorable event that follows the exciting Rallye Monte-Carlo season opener last month.
Rallying on snow and ice creates a unique spectacle as drivers rely on a combination of leaning against snowdrifts and the grip on their studded tires to cope with the fast turns and turns.
The official supplier Pirellis upgraded Sottozero Ice tires, mounted on all Rally1, Rally2 and Rally3 cars at Rally Sweden, has 384 studs with tungsten tip, each protruding seven millimeters out of the tread blocks to bite into the frozen ice below .
RALLY1 RULES EXPLAINED
The Rally1 rules, which herald a new, more sustainable era, are the result of extensive work by the FIA in collaboration with competing manufacturers Hyundai, M-Sport (Ford) and Toyota.
They adapted to deliver a category that maintains spectacular performance, further enhancing safety, while focusing on developing strategies that can help support the environment. In addition to the plug-in hybrid unit, which is connected to the existing 1.6-liter turbocharged internal combustion engine, Rally1 cars run on 100 percent fossil-free fuel.
The hybrid kit contains a 100kW electric motor mounted on a 3.9kWh battery and can deliver performance levels of more than 500bhp. It is important, however, that Rally1 cars are designed to be driven only in electric mode, which they will need to do in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) zones located near event service parks.
Rally1 cars can be identified by a “HY” graphic on the side doors. Safety lights on the windscreen and both side posts illuminate green if the car is safe to touch. A flashing red light with an audible warning means that a car is unsafe to touch.
With more than 45 percent of all cars sold in Sweden in 2021, they are electrified, and the country is a fitting place to host the second round of the WRC season with 13 events.
ENTRY OF 2022
Ten Rally1 cars will compete in Rally Sweden, the first of a number of races that the reigning FIA WRC champion Sébastien Ogier has not included in his limited schedule for 2022. His absence has made it possible for Esappekka Lappi to return to the championship via an arrangement to split the Frenchman’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 in selected rounds.
FIA World Rally Championship leader Kalle Rovanperä and former Rally Sweden winner Elfyn Evans join Lappi at Toyota Gazoo Racing to chase points against the FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers. Takamoto Katsuta, who took a breakthrough victory in WRC2 in Rally Sweden 2018, completes the Toyota attack.
After posting the Rally1 era’s first victory at the Rallye Monte-Carlo, Sébastien Loeb leaves the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team leadership role to Craig Breen, who drove his Ford Puma Rally1 to third place in Monaco. Adrien Fourmaux and Gus Greensmith make up the rest of the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team lineup.
Hyundai Shell Mobi’s World Rally Team duo Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak are on an exclusive list of five non-Nordic drivers to win Rally Sweden, the home competition for their 20-year-old teammate Oliver Solberg.
THE SUPPORT CATEGORIES
The restructured FIA WRC2 championship for Rally2 cars continues at Rally Sweden with separate classifications for teams, drivers and co-drivers, plus junior drivers and junior co-drivers, while the Masters Cup rewards the best driver and co-driver born in January or before January 1, 1972.
Rally Sweden is also hosting the initial round of the FIA Junior WRC Championship, which for the first time uses four-wheel drive Rally3 cars. Eight young drivers in identical Pirelli-equipped Ford Fiesta Rally3 from M-Sport Poland will be in action with Sami Pajari who aims to become only the second driver in history after Sweden’s PG Andersson to win the junior championship twice. Pajari’s rivals include Jon Armstrong, who returns after finishing second behind the Finn in 2021, and McRae Kimathi, the fourth African and first Kenyan driver to compete in the Junior WRC Championship.
Defending champion Andreas Mikkelsen tops the WRC2 order after his category victory at the Rallye Monte-Carlo, while his Škoda-powered Toksport WRT teammate Nikolay Gryazin leads the WRC2 Junior challenger. Among his rivals are the Finns Emil Lindholm and Jari Huttunen, who join the Swede Mattias Adielsson in a second M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2. Mauro Miele and Michał Sołowow are among the WRC2 Masters participants.
RUTTEN 2022
Rally Sweden’s return to the WRC starts at 20:00 local time on Thursday 24 February with the official start ceremony in Umeå center. Friday’s route takes crew north of the host city in two loops of three stages divided by a service stop in Umeå. SS2 and SS5, Kamsjön, is the longest of the event and the northernmost. The 5.53 kilometer long Umeå sprint rounds off today’s action and ends in the audience area The Red Barn Arena near the service park. Three repeated stages separated by service in Umeå provide the challenge on Saturday – four were initially planned but the double pass through the Örträsk special section was removed from the itinerary due to a local problem with unexpected relocation of reindeer herds on local farms. Both loops end with the Umeå stage, a longer version of the Umeå sprint from Friday night. Sunday’s itinerary contains four stages where the second pass through the 14.23 kilometer long Sarsjöliden test counts as the event-determining Power Stage from 12:18 local time.
RALLY DATA
Total distance: TBC
Stage distance: 264.79 km
Number of stages: 17
MEDIA ACCREDITATION
Media accreditation must be collected in person by accredited passport holders from the Accreditation Desk located within the Media Center on Dragongatan 1, Umeå (Dragon School’s Sports Hall on the opposite side of the road to the Rally HQ building). GPS coordinates: N63 ° 49.960 ‘E20 ° 14.665’
Opening hours are:
Tuesday 22 February: kl. 14.00 – 20.00
Wednesday 23 February: kl. 08.00 – 21.00
Thursday 24 February: kl. 08.00 – 22.00
The media center is open as follows:
Tuesday 22 February: kl. 14.00 – 20.00
Wednesday 23 February: kl. 08: 00-21: 00
Thursday 24 February: kl. 08: 00–22: 00
Friday, February 25: at 07.50–22.00
Saturday 26 February: at 07.25–22.00
Sunday 27 February: at 05.45–23.00
2022 RALLY SWEDEN SCHEDULE & MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES
Wednesday, February 23 | |
FIA Photographers security information, Media Center | 17:00 |
Team media features | From 5.30 pm |
Thursday 24 February | |
Shakedown P1 and other drivers as desired, Umeå | 09:01 – 10:00 |
Shakedown P1 + P2, Umeå | 10:01 – 11:30 |
Shakedown P2 + P3 + P4, Umeå | 11:01 – 12:30 |
Shakedown P3 + P4 + Non-Priority, Umeå | 12:00 – 13:30 |
Meet the crews (top 3 in Shakedown), Service Park | 12:30 |
Pre-Event FIA Press Conference, Media Center * | 13:00 |
Selected P1 crews to drive from SP to Umeå City Hall | 17.50 – 18.00 |
Rally Sweden Family photo with all P1 crews | 18:40 – 18:55 |
Autograph signing in Väven, Umeå | 19:00 – 19:45 |
Inauguration, Umeå | 20:00 |
Friday, February 25th | |
Beginning of section 1 | 07:50 hours |
Meet the teams (P1 team leaders, then top 3 drivers), SP | 19.30 (approx.) |
Saturday, February 26 | |
Beginning of section 3 | 07:10 hours |
Meet the teams (P1 team leaders, then top 3 drivers), SP | 19.30 (approx.) |
Sunday, February 27th | |
Beginning of section 5 | 05:30 |
Podium ceremony and award ceremony, Umeå | 14:00 |
Post-Event FIA Press Conference, Media Center * | 16:00 |
* Press conferences will be available to accredited media participating on site and will no longer be streamed via Zoom. However, a written transcript will be available afterwards. All Meet the Crews sessions can be followed on Rally Sweden’s social media platforms.
MEDIAZONER
All priority drivers will be available for media interviews at the following times:
TC3A, TC7A, TC11A, TC15A, TC19A
AT THE PRESENCE OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE
THURSDAY 24 FEBRUARY
13:00 – FIA WR3 / Junior WRC
Sami Pajari (FIN)
McRae Kimathi (KEN)
13:10 – FIA WRC2
Toksport WRT – Emil Lindholm (FIN)
M-Sport Ford WRT – Mattias Adielsson (SWE)
Ole Christian Veiby (NOR)
13:20 – FIA WRC
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT – Kalle Rovanperä (FIN)
Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT – Oliver Solberg (SWE)
M-Sport Ford WRT – Craig Breen (IRL)
SUNDAY 27 FEBRUARY
Winning FIA WRC3 Championship driver
Winning FIA WRC2 Championship driver
Winning FIA Junior WRC Championship driver
Top three drivers in the overall classification
Representative of the winning manufacturer
2022 RALLY SWEDEN MANUFACTURER REPORT
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Elfyn Evans (GBR) / Scott Martin (GBR) – # 33 |
Kalle Rovanperä (FIN) / Jonne Halttunen (FIN) – # 69 | |
Esapekka Lappi (FIN) / Janne Ferm (FIN) – # 4 | |
Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Thierry Neuville (BEL) / Martin Wydaeghe (BEL) – # 11 |
Ott Tänak (EST) / Martin Järveoja (EST) – # 8 | |
Oliver Solberg (SWE) / Elliott Edmondson (GBR) – # 2 | |
M-Sport Ford WRT | Craig Breen (IRL) / Paul Nagle (IRL) – # 42 |
Gus Greensmith (GBR) / Jonas Andersson (SWE) – # 44 | |
Adrien Fourmaux (FRA) / Alexandre Coria (FRA) – # 16 |
2022 FIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN RALLY CLASSIFICATIONS
The classification after the preliminary round of the FIA World Rally Championship season 2022 is available at this link: https://www.fia.com/events/world-rally-ch Championship/season-2022/standings
2020 RALLY SWEDEN RESULTS (2021 edition canceled due to covid-19 restrictions)
1. Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin |
Toyota Yaris WRC |
1h11.43.1s |
2. Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja |
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC |
+ 12.7s |
Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen |
Toyota Yaris WRC |
+ 20.2s |
NEW WINNERS
2019 |
Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja |
Toyota Yaris WRC |
2018 |
Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul |
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC |
2017 |
Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila |
Toyota Yaris WRC |
2016 |
Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia |
Volkswagen Polo R WRC |
2015 |
Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia |
Volkswagen Polo R WRC |