Former Toyota works driver Esapekka Lappi, alongside co-driver Janne Ferme, is back in Toyota Gazoo Racing colours at the Rally Sweden this week.
The second event of the 2022 World Rally Championship (WRC), the Rally Sweden, this week moves to new territory, the region of Västerbotten.
Rally headquarters and the central service park are based in the main city of Umeå, the city’s location takes the rally closer to the Arctic Circle which means extreme winter weather conditions are very likely to prevail. None of these roads or special stages has ever been used on a WRC event.
The only true winter round, Rally Sweden is renowned for high snow banks lining frozen roads. Studded tyres are essential and Pirelli’s narrow Sottozero tyres carry 384 tungsten-tipped steel studs to provide grip on the ice, 20 mm long and weighing just 4g, only 7mm of the stud is exposed the balance inserted into the rubber providing a strong anchor.
Servicing in outdoor conditions means routine work becomes difficult for the gloved mechanics as temperatures hover around -250 centigrade. Shovels are mandatory in the event competitors have to dig their cars out of snow banks.
Rally Sweden offers the first opportunity to see how the new hybrid-powered Rally1 cars perform on loose surface winter road conditions.
Originally run in 1950 during the summer months and named the Rally to the Midnight Sun, the rally endured for 15 years until becoming a winter event in 1965.
In 1973 it was part of the inaugural WRC and was dominated by Nordic drivers who won every year until Sébastien Loeb became the first “outsider” to claim victory in 2004. Thierry Neuville, Sébastien Ogier Ott Tänak and Elfyn Evans are the only other non Nordic competitors to take honours.
Top spot on the roll of honour belongs to Stig Blomqvist with seven wins.
Following a one year hiatus due to the covid pandemic, the 2022 Swedish Rally makes a welcome return. Starting with a shakedown stage on Thursday, the ceremonial start will be that evening in Umeå, followed by an overnight halt.
Friday morning will see the 50 strong field set out to tackle seven of the 19 special stages, cover 305.79km of the events total 1,339.80km.
Saturday’s leg offers eight further stages, although two are currently in doubt, Sunday’s final four stages, include the points earning Wolf Power Stage.
ALSO READ: Masterful Loeb bags record eighth Monte Carlo crown
With M-Sport Ford’s Loeb and Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Sébastien Ogier, who currently hold first and second positions in the WRC Driver’s Championship, both on limited season appearances and neither competing in Sweden, it will fall to Kalle Rovanperä (17 points and third in the Driver’s title race) and co-driver Jonne Halttunen to open the road in the TGR Yaris Rally 1.
The Finnish pair will be closely followed by the Irish crew of Craig Breen (15 points and fourth in the title chase) with co-driver Paul Nagle who will be out to prove the new M-Sport Ford Puma Rally 1, is a force to be reckoned with following the teams first, third and fifth finish on the Rallye Monte Carlo last month.
The Hyundai Shell Mobis Hyundai i20 N Rally 1 of Thierry Neuville (11 points) and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe, struggled on the Rallye Monte Carlo but managed to finish sixth overall and third on the power stage.
The pair will be looking for a podium this weekend, Neuville took victory in Sweden in 2018 so is one to watch. His team mates Ott Tänak with Martin Järveoja and Oliver Solberg with co-driver Elliot Edmondson have yet to put a point on the board after both retired on last months event.
Drivers WRC title contender for the last two years, Elfyn Evans and his co-driver Scott Martin, will certainly be chasing the top step on the podium after dropping to 21st position on the Rallye Monte Carlo, following a spin that lost him over twenty minutes. His four points on the championship table came from his second place on the power stage.
This weekend sees the return of former Toyota works driver Esapekka Lappi with his co-driver Janne Ferm and they will alternate drives with Ogier during the season. The Finnish team is very experienced on snow and could well be the dark horse this weekend.
M-Sport Ford’s Gus Greensmith and Jonas Andersson certainly began to find their feet in the new hybrid Puma last month and having taken their first WRC stage win will be hungry to stay in touch with the front runners.
Teammate Adrien Fourmaux with Alexandre Coria survived a huge off road crash which seriously damaged the car in the first event of the year and will certainly be out to prove they deserve the drive and can deliver the results the team expects.
Rally Sweden will be an interesting event to follow and could produce a significant result that will set the pecking order for the 2022 season.
For more information on the WRC title race, click here.
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