The second day of Rally Sweden has come to an end. Esapekka Lappi took the lead after the most chaotic day ever.
SS2, #42 Brattby 1
Kalle Rovanperä kicked off the second day with a stage win. Posting a time 3.2 seconds faster than Esapekka Lappi and Ott Tänak who tied for second fastest. Takamoto Katsuta finished third fastest on the stage, 0.3 seconds slower than Lappi and Tänak. Elfyn Evans set the fourth fastest time, 2.6 seconds slower than Katsuta. Thierry Neuville rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 5.1 seconds slower than Evans.
SS3, Norrby 1
Esapekka Lappi claimed his first stage win of the season on the third stage of Rally Sweden. With the Finnish driver setting a time 1.2 seconds faster than Kalle Rovanperä to top the stage. Takamoto Katsuta finished third fastest on the stage, 0.8 seconds slower than Rovanperä. Ott Tänak posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Katsuta. Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 6.8 seconds slower than Tänak.
SS4, Floda 1
Takamoto Katsuta took home his first stage win on SS4. Posting a time 0.7 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to claim the stage win. Adrien Fourmaux finished third fastest on the stage, 2.5 seconds slower than Evans. Esapekka Lappi set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 7.3 seconds slower than Fourmaux. Thierry Neuville rounded out the top five times on the stage, finishing 9.9 seconds slower than Lappi.
SS5, #42 Brattby 2
WRC2 driver Georg Linnamäe took home his first career stage win on the fifth stage of Rally Sweden. No, you didn’t read that wrong, a WRC2 driver legitimately won the stage, but hold on it gets crazier. Linnamäe set a time 2.4 seconds faster than fellow WRC2 driver Oliver Solberg to claim the stage victory. WRC2 driver Mikko Heikklä finished third fastest on the stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Solberg. WRC2 driver Lauri Joona posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 1.5 seconds slower than Heikklä. If you guessed a WRC2 driver rounded out the top five on the stage, you’d be correct. As Fabrizio Zaldivar rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.5 seconds slower than Joona. The top Rally1 driver finished sixth fastest on the stage. That driver being Esapekka Lappi who finished 1.2 seconds slower than Zaldivar.
SS6, Norrby 2
Esapekka Lappi topped the sixth stage of the weekend. Posting a time 2.6 seconds faster than WRC2 driver Georg Linnamäe. Takamoto Katsuta finished third fastest on the stage, 2.4 seconds slower than Linnamäe. WRC2 driver Fabrizio Zaldivar set the fourth fastest time, 2.8 seconds slower than Katsuta. WRC2 driver Roope Korhonen rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Zaldivar.
SS7, Floda 2
Esapekka Lappi claimed his third stage win on the day with a win on the penultimate stage of Rally Sweden day two. As Lappi set a time 2.1 seconds faster than Takamoto Katsuta to top the stage. Oliver Solberg finished third fastest on the stage, 10.3 seconds slower than Katsuta. Mikko Heikklä posted the fourth fastest time, 6.1 seconds slower than Solberg. Sami Pajari rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 2.5 seconds slower than Heikklä.
SS8, Umeá Sprint 2
Esapekka Lappi capped the day off with a stage win. Posting a time 1.4 seconds faster than Takamoto Katsuta on the days final stage. Thierry Neuville finished third fastest on the stage, 0.8 seconds slower than Katsuta. Adrien Fourmaux set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 1.1 seconds slower than Katsuta. Elfyn Evans rounded out the top five on the stage, 1.8 seconds slower than Fourmaux.
Overall After Rally Sweden Day Two
Esapekka Lappi leads Rally Sweden after the first full day of stages. Lappi holds a 3.2-second lead over Takamoto Katsuta heading into the penultimate day. Oliver Solberg sits third overall, a minute and 17.5 seconds behind Katsuta. Adrien Fourmaux ends the day fourth overall, 5.6 seconds behind Solberg. While Elfyn Evans rounds out the top five overall, sitting 23.7 seconds behind Fourmaux.
Tough Conditions
If you’re wondering how on earth five WRC2 cars finished a stage faster than Rally1 cars, well the answer is simple. On the afternoon loop conditions were less than desirable for the Rally1 drivers. With Elfyn Evans and Thierry Neuville having to sweep a reported 10 cm of snow. This put the Rally1 drivers at a huge disadvantage. WRC2 drivers got optimal road conditions which paired with their lower overall speed gave them an advantage. This advantage was big enough for them to finish with top five times on all but one of the afternoon stages.
Tänak And Rovanperä Retire
Ott Tänak and Kalle Rovanperä were the first Rally1 drivers to retire from Rally Sweden. Tänak crashed into a snowbank. He tried to continue on but had to stop due to the engine overheating. Kalle Rovanperä also went off the road, which forced him to retire from the day. Both drivers will be back for day three. Nevertheless, this is still a massive blow for the two. As both were considered favorites to win the event.