The return of Craig Breen to Hyundai It couldn’t have started in a better way. The Irish driver, who competes for the first time with the hybrid i20, has taken the lead in Rally Sweden. He surprise on the snow though hot on his heels are Ott Tanak and Esapekka Lappi.
As planned, Kalle Rovanpera has paid the toll to open the track, and he has dropped seconds here and there when clearing snow from the surface of the stages. On the first day he gave up more than half a minute on Breen, although from the second stage may recover when the starting order is reversed.
Breen has taken advantage of his late starting position, has won three of the eight stages disputed and has opened a small gap with Tanak (who won his first stage with the Ford) and Lappi (who spun), his main pursuers. A little further behind is Elfyn Evans, who has not been able to find the settings to ride comfortably. Thierry Neuville has also suffered, still convalescing from the illness that prevented him from doing the previous test, he also ran in the afternoon without a front or rear apron, which is why he lost aerodynamics and performance. The loss of the day has been that of Takamoto Katsutawhich suffered a rollover at high speed and was forced to abandon due to the damage caused.
Among the Spanish, Daniel Alonso marches fourth in Masters, and Raul Hernandez he is fifth in Junior. The second stage is the longest and therefore the most feared by the pilots, and will have 7 sections and 126 timed kilometers.
Classification
1. Breen-Fulton (Irl/Hyundai), 57m 5.5s
2. Tanak-Jarveoja (Est/Ford), at 2.6
3. Lappi-Ferm (Fin/Hyundai), at 11.2
4. Evans-Martin (Gbr/Toyota), at 26.5
5. Rovanpera-Halttunen (Fin/Toyota), at 31.1
