Epic rally season continues

The Swedish Rally has always favoured local drivers. Since becoming a championship event in 1973 it has been dominated by Scandinavians, taking victory every year until 2004.

Then Frenchman Sebastien Loeb broke the monopoly and he was followed in 2013, 2015 and 2016 by compatriot Sebastien Ogier.

The Scandinavians retaliated in 2017 when Finn Jari-Matti Latvala took the win, but it was Belgian Thierry Neuville who took the honours last year.

Topping the role of honour are Stig Blomqvist and Marcus Gronholm, both having taken five wins, and this year Gronholm will be hoping to make it six.

The 51-year-old Finn returns with his former co-driver, 54-year-old Timo Rautiainen in a privately entered Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris.

Though not eligible to earn WRC points, they will surely aim to get on to the podium.

A classic winter rally, run in the Swedish and Norwegian forests, traverses snow and ice-covered roads with huge snowbanks which many competitors “lean on” to carry more speed through corners.

Tyres are studded, each one fitted with 384 tungsten-tipped steel studs 20mm long and embedded in the rubber to leave just 7mm exposed.

Tomorrow’s shakedown stage will be followed by the official start for the 62 competitors and the first of 19 special stages, totalling 319km of the 1 466km overall rally distance.

The super-special night stage will attract thousands of spectators to the Karlstad trotting track.

Despite reigning champion Ogier’s victory in the Citroen Total WRT C3 in Monte Carlo and a healthy eight-point lead over Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT’s Neuville, it is the Korean automotive giant that heads the all-important manufacturers’ title chase on 30 points.

Citroen share second spot with Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, on 25 points, and M-Sport Ford WRT trail, with just 14 points. Ogier (29 points) needs a good result from his Citroen teammate Esapekka Lapp – a non-finisher in Monte Carlo – to stay in the title chase.

Neuville (21 points) is supported by a solid team with Loeb (12 points) and Andreas Mikkelsen and their new team manager Andrea Adamo, hungry for a win.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT’s Ott Tanak (17 points), Kris Meeke (13 points) and Jari-Matti Latvala (10 points) will be at maximum attack to retain their manufacturers’ crown.

Monte Carlo 2019 is a rally M-Sport WRT would like to forget with the team’s highest-placed finisher, Gus Greensmith, seventh in a WRC2 Pro class Fiesta.

With just 2.2 sec between first and second at the end of the Monte Carlo Rally, it promises to become an epic season.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.