The Swedish Rally has put an end to the drought of triumphs of Ott Tanak. The Estonian had been winless since the Ypres Rally in Belgium last August, something that has changed in the Swedish snow. A victory that places him as the World Cup leader after maintaining a tight duel against Craig Breen, who in the end finished second after a bizarre finish.
They started 8.6sec apart, and Tanak already made it clear from the opening stage that he wasn’t going to make it easy for Breen. He endorsed him three seconds and, despite the fact that the Irishman recovered him in the second, at the final Power Stage, of 10 kilometers, they arrived separated by 8.5. That prompted Cyril Abiteboul, Hyundai’s new boss, to ask him to penalize in favor of Neuville, who in the end finished third after making a mistake in the final stretch and after also winning the game against Kalle Rovanpera. With the double podium and the victory of Esapekka Lappi in the Power Stage, Hyundai is close to Toyota in the manufacturer’s standings.
is the Tanak’s 18th victory, his second victory in Sweden after the one achieved in 2019 and the first for Ford since last year they won Monte Carlo in 2022. The Estonian had not won with a vehicle from the oval firm since the 2017 Rallye Deutschland. “Obviously, it means a lot to me to get into a new car and give the team the victory”, he said after getting out of the car. “It is a great effort for them to fight against such big manufacturers. I’m sure they’re getting a bit of stress from me, but as long as it’s working, we’re all winning. It’s great to be a part of this team.” A victory that places them at the top of the World Cup standings that could be more exciting than last year.
In WRC2 Oliver Solberg took the win with the new Skoda. Of the Spaniards, Alex Villanueva in the end finished third in the Masters, and Raúl Hernández finished fifth among the Juniors. In the next round, the Rally Mexico (March 16 to 19), we will have Dani Sordo behind the wheel of the Hyundai, and Sebastien Ogier will also return after his victory in Monte Carlo. It will be the first land date of the year.
final classification
1. Tanak-Jarveoja (Est/Ford), 2h 25m 54.5s
2. Breen-Fulton (Irl/Hyundai), at 18.7
3. Neuville-Wydaeghe (Bel/Hyundai), at 20.0
4. Rovanpera-Halttunen (Fin/Toyota), at 25.1
5. Evans-Martin (Gbr/Toyota), at 1:24.0
Drivers World Cup
1. Ott Tanak, 41 points
2. Kalle Rovanpera, 38
3.Thierry Neuville, 32
4. Elfyn Evans, 29
5. Sebastien Ogier, 26
10. Dani Sordo, 6