Lehdistötiedotteet - WRS3: Sweden

WRS3: Sweden

Day 1 in Scandinavia, and (almost) everybody's first tentative steps on studded tyres as the rally circus trades the icy roads of Monte Carlo, for the full on snowbanks of Sweden, which will demand and command drivers drifting and adaptability skills to tame the treacherous roads.

And it was the veteran Vaculik who did just that, following on from his meticulous form in Monte Carlo and racking up a clean sweep of wins across all stages to take a solid two minute lead over Wynn Hunter, who swept P2, as he looks to make amends for a disastrous final day at Monte, crashing out of 2nd place overall and waving goodbye to a comfortable 18 points.

Another major shock and another driver looking to remedy a late drama last time out, is Visvaldis Ceļš! The 18 year old ran outside of the points for the majority of Round 1, but Sweden seems to fit his style immaculately, finishing all stages in the Top 5, and finishing the day P3!

All drivers managed to make it through the morning, but the cold was yet to bite, as Stage 3 at Svullrya claimed three, with another to follow as the evening drew to a close.

Day 2 didn't provide too much more than an early night for five more drivers, and perhaps most unfortunately, one of which was the young Latvian, Ceļš, who continued a monumental run in P3, before coming unstuck in the final stage and dropping out of third on the overall time sheet, ultimately promoting Rory Zarsoff into the top 10. The high ranking Australian having finished Day 1 in P13 made short work of climbing the table, displacing Rytov and De Penouta on his way to entering the points.

A largely uneventful third day in the snow saw a status quo throughout, except for Mazur making headway into a huge time deficit after a tyre mix up on Day 1, seeing him rise from (then) 19th, to 12th, as the 21 remaining drivers took to the final day. Mazur would eventually reclaim a spot in the Top 10 for 1pt, damage limitation after the early error.

As was the way with Hunters unexpected DNF on the final day in Monte, Sweden had one more surprise akin to the Brits demise, this time for the series' #2 ranked driver Bão Pereira, who crashes out of P5 on Torsby stage. Totalling 9 drivers who failed to see the flag in these freezing conditions.

Subsequently, Rally Sweden ended as such, and made for an interesting points table!

Rally Sweden: Result

1. M.Vaculik 03:27:48.752
2. W.Hunter +08:11.855 (+491.856)
3. D.Varadi +23:56.045 (+944.189)
4. J.Korhonen +28:29.150 (+273.105)
5. R.Müller +29:03.196 (+34.046)

(Retracting the previously stated points tally, as the system was glitched)

Championship Standings (After Round 2)

1. M. Vaculik - 50pts
2. D. Varadi - 25pts
3. W. Hunter - 18pts
4. J. Bão Pereira - 18pts
5. J. Korhonen - 18pts