Neuville strikes late to take the lead in Rally Sweden | World Rally
After seven stages – all of which were new to drivers after the event’s move north to Umeå this season – Neuville’s buffer is overshadowed by four seconds.
A second fastest time on Friday’s final “Umea Sprint” was enough to turn the event’s skin on its head. When he went into it, Neuville had moved to within six tenths of the then leader Elfyn Evans.
However, Evans was powerless to defend his position because the studded tires worn by his GR Yaris Rally1 car had seen better days and could not earn the kind of grip he longed for.
“We had a very smart afternoon – we took care of our tires very well and the car worked perfectly,” said Neuville, who earlier in the day was forced to perform some hasty checks on his car’s hybrid system on the stretch between SS2 and SS3.
“We made some small set-up changes to the service – just small – and I felt comfortable so I could drive fast,” Neuville added.
Another big driver on the last stage was Kalle Rovanpera. With Evans unable to keep his supermini on the desired line through the corners, it opened the door for the young Finn. He did not need a second invitation and happily swapped places with his Toyota teammate.
On his Rally1 debut for the Toyota Gazoo Racing squad, Esapekka Lappi is fourth in total. He led the short rally – one of five different names that did – despite missing time in the hybrid-powered supermini.
Young Swede Oliver Solberg walked backwards over the afternoon loop as he struggled to preserve the longevity of his tires. However, he is not under any pressure, as the gap to him and Takamoto Katsuta is 50.8 seconds.
Adrien Fourmaux’s cautious approach after his huge Rallye Monte Carlo shunt last month puts him in seventh place ahead of M-Sport Ford’s running mate Gus Greensmith, who was handicapped by transmission gremlins and a trip into a snow bank.
Hyundai Motorsports Ott Tanak retired on Friday. In a brief statement, his team said: “Unfortunately, a problem with the hybrid kit triggered a red light on car # 8 and according to FIA rules, and as a safety precaution we will need to retire Ott’s car for today.
“We will investigate the issue when the car is back in operation.” The Estonian was second at that time, 1.1 seconds behind rally leader Evans “, it added.
Earlier in the day on the second Test, M-Sport Ford’s Craig Breen bowed as he made his career into a snowdrift. A few miles up the road, the Irishman survived with damage to the front of his car, but he was not so lucky the second time and blamed the fault on the washer fluid freezing on his windshield.
Rally Sweden resumes tomorrow morning at 07.57 British time when the crew will tackle the first of six stages. Saturday’s itinerary has lost the Örträsk test (SS9 / 13) – equivalent to 250 km – due to the movement of reindeer herds in the area.