The first day of Rally Sweden has come to an end. Kalle Rovanperä leads after the days lone stage.
Rally Sweden Shakedown
Esapekka Lappi was right back into form. As the Finnish drivers topped the Rally Sweden shakedown. Lappi posted a time 0.6 seconds faster than Adrien Fourmaux. Ott Tänak finished third fastest, 0.2 seconds slower than Fourmaux. Reigning champion Kalle Rovanperä set the fourth fastest time, 0.5 seconds slower than Tänak. Championship leader Thierry Neuville rounded out the top five on the shakedown, finishing 1.6 seconds slower than Rovanperä.
SSS1, Umeá Sprint 1
Kalle Rovanperä was right back to his winning ways on the Rally Sweden opener. As Rovanperä set a time 1.4 seconds faster than Takamoto Katsuta to top the SuperSpecial stage. Elfyn Evans finished third fastest, 0.6 seconds slower than Katsuta. Ott Tänak and Adrien Fourmaux tied for fourth fastest on the stage. With both drivers posting a time 0.1 seconds slower than Fourmaux, despite some difficulties for Tänak. Thierry Neuville rounded out the top five times on the stage, finishing 0.6 seconds slower than Tänak and Fourmaux.
What To Expect From Rally Sweden Day Two
The second day of Rally Sweden will see drivers contest 107.9 km across 7 special stages. Drivers will look to make the most of the less-than-favorable conditions. As the snow and ice aren’t as good as usual for the event. This will have an effect on how the drivers attack the stages. It will also slightly favor the later-running cars, including Kalle Rovanperä. Thierry Neuville will have the worst conditions on the first pass as he’s on sweeping duty. Elfyn Evans is second on the road while 2023 Rally Sweden winner Ott Tänak is third. Kalle Rovanperä starts seventh on the road.
Rally Sweden is one of the most magical events on the World Rally Championship calendar, but why? Find out below.
Unique Event Conditions
Rally Sweden is the most unique event on the World Rally Championship schedule. Sure every event is unique in its own way. However, Rally Sweden is the only event to take place on full snow and ice-covered roads. This provides the drivers with a unique challenge. Snow and ice is already a difficult and different challenge. The roads themselves make it even more of a challenge. As the roads are often fast and flowing like Rally Finland. However, these roads don’t feature nearly as many jumps.
Different Challenges
Every World Rally Championship has different challenges. Monte has jagged rock faces, Finland has fast-flowing jumps, and Rally Sweden is no different. Sweden’s unique challenge comes mainly in the form of snowbanks. Snowbanks are extremely unforgiving. As it’s pretty easy to get the car beached on them. Just ask Andreas Mikkelsen, he lost an event after getting his car beached on a snowbank on the final stage some years ago. Drivers use tire studs to help with traction on the slick roads. However, at times the roads are still extremely slick. This can cause a driver to go straight into the previously mentioned snowbanks. The more experienced drivers can use the banks to their advantage. As some have used the banks to help braking when needed. However, that’s only on rare occasions as it is a massive risk.
Night Stages
Rally Sweden is also one of the only events on the calendar to feature night stages outside of the SuperSpecial. This provides drivers with yet another unique challenge. This pushes almost every driver to their limit. Some more experienced drivers find this easier, while others don’t. For some, this will be the only nighttime rallying they do in their career. While some grew up doing nighttime rallying.
Earlier this week the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team unveiled a new livery for the 2024 season.
Another One
Hyundai are changing their livery after just one event, but why? The team wants the livery used for Rallye Monte-Carlo to maintain its 100% win rate. With Hyundai team principal Cyril Abitaboul stating “Starting the 2024 season with a win at one of the most iconic events in WRC history was an incredible moment, ten years after our first-ever Rallye Monte-Carlo, and it is fitting that Thierry and Martijn’s Monte-Carlo colours are memorialised in the history books.” This isn’t the only reason Hyundai changed their livery, however, as the team was going to regardless if Neuville won Rallye Monte-Carlo.
The Other Reason Hyundai Changed Liveries
The 2024 season marks 10 years since the team re-entered the WRC. With Abitaboul stating the main reasons for the livery change were as follows “As some of our colleagues celebrate the Lunar New Year, we are also marking a fresh beginning with an all-new livery for the remainder of the FIA WRC season,” said Hyundai Motorsport president and team principal Cyril Abiteboul. “The design was created to pay tribute to our close working relationship with Hyundai N and Hyundai Motor Company and complements their celebrations of ten years in the pinnacle of rallying.”
Livery For The Rest Of The Season
Hyundai has confirmed they will use this new livery for the remainder of the 2024 campaign. Hyundai will look to add more wins this season. As the team chases not only the manufacturers’ championship but also the drivers’ championship. With Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak both being favorites alongside Elfyn Evans to win the championship this season. Andreas Mikkelsen, Esapekka Lappi and Dani Sordo will look to help achieve these goals in a part-time manner. However, achieving these goals won’t be easy for the Korean team.
The second round of the 2024 World Rally Championship takes place this weekend with Rally Sweden. Find out more below.
Championship Rundown
Yohan Rossel leads the WRC2 championship heading into Rally Sweden once again this season. As Rossel holds a seven-point lead over Pepe López. Both Rossel and López will not be contesting this weekend’s event. Nikolay Gryazin sits third in the championship, three points behind López and 10 behind Rossel. Nicolas Ciamin, who also won’t be attending this weekend, sits three points behind Gryazin. Stephan Lefebvre rounds out the top five in the championship sitting two points behind Ciamin. Lefebvre also won’t be attending the event this weekend.
A Stacked Entry List
Rally Sweden is the first true stacked entry list for WRC2 of 2024. As Rallye Monte-Carlo had an underwhelming amount of stars contesting for points. This time around both Oliver Solberg and Sami Pajari will score points for the first time this season. After both contested Rallye Monte-Carlo but not for points. Emil Lindholm, Mikko Heikklä, William Creighton, Lauri Joona, Roope Korhonen and Gorg Linnamäe will make their season debuts. Heikklä has already won a snow event this season. Winning the Arctic Rally Lapland in Finland behind the wheel of his new Toyota Yaris GR Rally2 in preparation for Rally Sweden. Reigning WRC3 champion Roope Korhonen and Gorg Linnamäe will both also drive a Yaris Rally2. Lindholm will drive a Hyundai i20 Rally2 run by CHL Auto. While Joona will drive a Skoda Fabia.
Rally Sweden Event Rundown
Over the course of the four-day event drivers will contest 300.1 km across 18 stages. Day one will see drivers contest the events shakedown and a SuperSpecial stage to kick off the event. The second day of Rally Sweden will have drivers contest 107.9 km across seven stages. The third and longest day of the event will see drivers contest 125.96 km across seven stages. The fourth and final day of Rally Sweden sees drivers contest 61.08 km across three stages.
The second round of the 2024 World Rally Championship takes place this weekend with Rally Sweden. Find out more below.
Championship Rundown
Thierry Neuville tops the championship after winning Rallye Monte-Carlo last month. Neuville holds a six-point lead over Sebastien Ogier. However, Ogier won’t be competing at Rally Sweden. 2023 vice-champion Elfyn Evans is third in the championship, three points behind Ogier and nine behind Neuville. 2023 Rally Sweden winner Ott Tänak heads into the snowy event fourth in the championship, six points behind Evans and 15 behind Neuville. Adrien Forumaux rounds out the top five in the championship, sitting four points behind Tänak and 19 behind Neuville.
Return Of The Champ
Kalle Rovanperä will suit up for his first WRC action since Rally Japan. Rovanperä has elected to contest a part-time schedule this year. As the now two-time champion wants a bit of a break to explore other motorsport disciplines. As well as just some time off as he’s been competing in rallies since he was eight. Rovanperä contested the Arctic Rally Lapland in Finland last week. He finished second behind Elfyn Evans.
Honoring Craig Breen
The organizers of Rally Sweden have elected to honor Craig Breen in at least one way this weekend. As they have added Breen’s number 42 to the stage Breen loved, Brattby. Breen won the stage both times it ran last season on his way to finishing second behind Ott Tänak. At what would ultimately be his final event, as he passed during testing for the Croatia Rally. Whether or not anything else will be done to honor the fallen Irish star is unknown.
Rally Sweden Event Rundown
Over the course of the four-day event drivers will contest 300.1 km across 18 stages. Day one will see drivers contest the events shakedown and a SuperSpecial stage to kick off the event. The second day of Rally Sweden will have drivers contest 107.9 km across seven stages. The third and longest day of the event will see drivers contest 125.96 km across seven stages. The fourth and final day of Rally Sweden sees drivers contest 61.08 km across three stages.
The 1999 Rallye Monte-Carlo is one of the more notable additions in recent history. Let’s travel back in time to the event.
The Event
The 1999 running of Rallye Monte-Carlo saw drivers contest 424.69 km of snowy tarmac roads across 14 stages in the French Alps. The shortest stage was the fifth stage of the event, St Clement – St Saveur. Spanning just 20.35 km in length. The longest test was the first stage of the event, Plan De Vitrolles – Faye. Which spanned a total of 48.28 km.
Day One, A Shocking Start
Privateer Gillies Panizzi topped the timesheet after the first day’s five stages. Despite only winning a single stage. Panizzi sat first overall, with a 5.9-second gap over Tommi Makinen. Juha Kankkunen was third to end the day, a minute and 13.7 seconds behind Makinen. Colin McRae won two stages on the day. Despite this, he sat sixth overall after the day, 1 minute and 59.9 seconds behind Panizzi. The first day also caught out a couple of favourites to win the event. As both Carlos Sainz, Freddy Loix and Armin Schwarz retired on just the first stage. Sainz and Loix both crashed out, while Schwarz had a clutch issue.
Day Two, Makinen Takes Lead
Reigning World Rally Champion Tommi Makinen topped the event after the second day. Winning two of the day’s five stages to take a minute and 14.4-second lead over standout Giles Panizzi. Juha Kankkunen ended the day in third, 20.2 seconds behind Panizzi. There were no notable moments on the day. Panizzi continued to be a standout on the day behind the wheel of his Subaru 22B. Colin McRae pushed up to fourth, while François Delecour ended the day in fifth.
Day Three, Makinen Wins
The third and final day of the 1999 Rallye Monte Carlo saw Tommi Makinen hold on to his lead to win the event for the first time in his career. Makinen ended the event with a minute and 44.7-second lead over Juha Kankkunen. Didier Auriol finished the event third overall behind the wheel of his Toyota. Auriol finished a whopping two minutes and 8.1 seconds behind Kankkunen. Unfortunately, the final day did see a couple of notable drivers retire. On the first stage of the day, Giles Panizzi retired due to an accident. While Colin McRae was excluded from the event due to a water pump.
First Of Four Consecutive Wins
Tommi Makinen took his first Rallye Monte-Carlo win in 1999. However, the Finnish star would go on to win the next three editions of the event. Makinen to this day is tied for the third most wins at the event. Being tied with Walter Röhrl, Sandro Munari and Jean Trévoux. Makinen would be the only non-French winner of the event until fellow Finnish driver Mikko Hirvonen won the event in 2010. Makinen seemed to like to do things in four. As 1999 would be the last year Makinen won the World Rally Championship. Having won it the three seasons prior.
The fourth and final day of Rallye Monte-Carlo has come to an end. Yohan Rossel took the lead to win the event.
SS15, La Bréole – Selonnet 3
Yohan Rossel and Pepe López kicked off the final day by tying for a stage win. As both López and Rossel set a time 3.9 seconds faster than Nikolay Gryazin to top the stage. Nicolas Ciamin set the third fastest time, 18 seconds slower than Gryazin. Stephane Lefebvre posted the fourth fastest time on the opening stage. Posting a time 1.5 seconds slower than Ciamin. Jan Solans rounded out the top five times on the stage, finishing 17.8 seconds slower than Lefebvre.
SS16, Digne-les-Bains – Chaudon-Norante
Yohan Rossel topped the penultimate stage of Rallye Monte-Carlo. Posting a time 5.8 seconds faster than Pepe López to take his second consecutive stage win. Nikolay Gryazin finished third fastest on the stage, 2.8 seconds slower than López. Nicolas Ciamin set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 22.8 seconds slower than Gryazin. Stephane Lefebvre rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 2.3 seconds slower than Ciamin.
SS17, La Bollène-Vésubie – Col De Turini
Yohan Rossel also took home the stage win on the final stage of the event. Setting a time 4.8 seconds faster than Pepe López to clinch the rally win. Nikolay Gryazin finished third fastest on the stage, 4.9 seconds slower than López. Nicolas Ciamin posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2.9 seconds slower than Gryazin. Stephane Lefebvre rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 3.1 seconds slower than Ciamin.
Final Rallye Monte-Carlo Overall
Yohan Rossel ended the event with a 4-second lead over standout Pepe López. Nikolay Gryazin finished third overall, 11.4 seconds behind López and 15.4 seconds behind teammate Yohan Rossel. Nicolas Ciamin ended the event three minutes and 58.9 seconds behind Gryazin. Stephane Lefebvre rounded out the WRC2 top five, finishing the event a minute and 44.2 seconds behind Ciamin.
The fourth and final day of Rallye Monte-Carlo has come to an end. Thierry Neuville held on to take the win.
SS15, La Bréole – Selonnet 3
Thierry Neuville kicked off the final day the same way he kicked off the last two, with a stage win. As the Belgian set a time 4.7 seconds faster than Sebastien Ogier to top the stage. Ott Tänak finished third fastest on the stage, 0.4 seconds slower than Ogier. Elfyn Evans posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 1.8 seconds slower than Tänak. Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 9.5 seconds slower than Evans.
SS16, Digne-les-Bains – Chaudon-Norante
Thierry Neuville also took the stage win on the penultimate stage of Rally Monte-Carlo. Posting a time 0.2 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to top the stage. Ott Tänak finished third fastest on the stage, 2.5 seconds slower than Evans. Sebastien Ogier set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2.8 seconds slower than Tänak. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 9 seconds slower than Ogier.
SS17, La Bollène-Vésubie – Col De Turini
Thierry Neuville topped the final stage of the event to go three for three on the final day. Neuville set a time 2.5 seconds faster than Sebastien Ogier to top the stage. Takamoto Katsuta finished third fastest on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Ogier. Elfyn Evans rounded out the top five on the stage, posting a time 0.4 seconds slower than Katsuta. Ott Tänak rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 1.8 seconds slower than Evans.
Final Rallye Monte-Carlo Overall
Thierry Neuville ended the event with a 16.1-second lead over Sebastien Ogier. Elfyn Evans finished third overall, 29.1 seconds behind Ogier and 45.2 seconds behind Neuville. Ott Tänak ended the event fourth overall, a minute and 14.6 seconds behind Evans. Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five at this home event, finishing one minute and 37.1 seconds behind Tänak.
The third day of Rallye Monte-Carlo has come to an end. Nikolay Grayzin retained his lead on the day.
SS9, Esparron – Oze 1
Pepe López kicked off the penultimate day of Rallye Monte-Carlo with a stage win. As the Spaniard posted a time 0.2 seconds faster than Nikolay Gryazin to top the stage. Yohan Rossel finished third fastest on the stage, 6.5 seconds slower than Gryazin. Nicolas Ciamin set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 4.5 seconds slower than Rossel. Stephane Lefebvre rounded out the top five on the stage, 15.4 seconds slower than Ciamin.
SS10, Les Nonières – Chichilianne 1
Nikolay Grayzin took home his first stage win of the day on the second stage of the day. Posting a time 2.9 seconds faster than Pepe López. Yohan Rossel finished third fastest on the stage, 0.8 seconds slower than López. Nicolas Ciamin set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 12.2 seconds slower than Rossel. Stephane Lefebvre rounded out the top five on the stage, 9.9 seconds slower than Ciamin.
SS11, Pellafol – Agnières-en-Dévoluy 1
Yohan Rossel topped the final stage of the morning loop. Setting a time 1.8 seconds faster than Nikolay Gryazin to top his first of the weekend. Pepe López finished third fastest on the stage, 1.9 seconds slower than Grayzin. Niclas Ciamin posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 8.1 seconds slower than López. Stephane Lefebvre rounded out the top five on the stage once again, finishing 4.8 seconds slower than Ciamin.
SS12, Esparron – Oze 2
Pepe López kicked off the afternoon loop with a stage win. Setting a time 6.4 seconds faster than Yohan Rossel to top the stage. Nikolay Gryazin finished third fastest on the stage, 4.4 seconds slower than Rossel. Nicolas Ciamin posted the fourth fastest time on the stage 0.9 seconds slower than Gryazin. Stephane Lefebvre rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.3 seconds slower than Ciamin.
SS13, Les Nonières – Chichilianne 2
Yohan Rossel topped the penultimate stage of the third day of Rallye Monte-Carlo. Posting a time 2.8 seconds faster than Nikolay Gryazin. Pepe López finished third fastest on the stage, 0.7 seconds slower than Gryazin. Nicolas Ciamin set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 16.1 seconds slower than López. Stephane Lefebvre rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 3.4 seconds slower than Ciamin.
SS14, Pellafol – Agnières-en-Dévoluy 2
Yohan Rossel took home his second consecutive stage win to cap off the day. With the Frenchman posting a time 0.5 seconds faster than Nikolay Gryazin to top the stage. Pepe López finished third fastest on the stage, 4.4 seconds slower than Gryazin. Stephane Lefebvre set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 15.7 seconds slower than López. Nicolas Ciamin rounded out the top five on the stage, 5.9 seconds slower than Lefebvre.
The third day of Rallye Monte-Carlo has come to an end. Thierry Neuville took the rally lead on the day.
SS9, Esparron – Oze 1
Thierry Neuville kicked off the penultimate day of Rallye Monte-Carlo with a stage win. As the 2020 event winner posted a time 9.6 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to top the stage. Grégoire Munster finished third fastest on the stage, 4.6 seconds slower than Evans for the first top three time of his career. Takamoto Katsuta set a time 3.9 seconds slower than Munster on the stage. Sebastien Ogier rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.7 seconds slower than Katsuta.
SS10, Les Nonières – Chichilianne 1
Sebastien Ogier topped the second stage of the day. As the 9-time event winner set a time 2.1 seconds faster than now rally leader Thierry Neuville. Takamoto Katsuta finished third fastest on the stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Neuville. Ott Tänak posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.8 seconds slower than Katsuta. Grégoire Munster rounded out the top five on the stage, 3.1 seconds slower than Tänak.
SS11, Pellafol – Agnières-en-Dévoluy 1
Hyundai drivers Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak tied for the fastest time on the final stage of the morning loop. As both drivers posted a time 1.2 seconds faster than Takamoto Katsuta. Sebastien Ogier finished with the third fastest on the stage, 1.4 seconds slower than Katsuta. Elfyn Evans set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 1.6 seconds slower than Ogier. Grégoire Munster rounded out the top five times on the final stage of Rallye Monte-Carlo day three’s morning loop. Finishing with a time 5.6 seconds slower than Evans.
SS12, Esparron – Oze 2
Sebastien Ogier opened the afternoon loop with a stage win. Setting a time 5.5 seconds faster than leader Thierry Neuville to close the gap between himself and Neuville to just 2.2 seconds. Ott Tänak and Takamoto Katsuta tied for the third fastest time on the stage, with both drivers finishing 8.4 seconds slower than Ogier. Andreas Mikkelsen posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 1.3 seconds slower than Tänak and Katsuta. Elfyn Evans rounded out the top five times on the stage, finishing 1.7 seconds slower than Mikkelsen.
SS13, Les Nonières – Chichilianne 2
Sebastien Ogier also took the stage win on the penultimate stage of the penultimate day of Rallye Monte-Carlo. Posting a time 3 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville to top the stage and take the rally lead. Elfyn Evans finished third fastest for the first time today, finishing 4.6 seconds faster than Neuville on the stage. Ott Tänak set the fourth fastest on the stage, 5.2 seconds slower than Evans. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 4.2 seconds slower than Tänak.
SS14, Pellafol – Agnières-en-Dévoluy 2
Thierry Neuville topped the final stage of the day. Posting a time 4.1 seconds faster than Sebastien Ogier to take back the rally lead. Ott Tänak finished third fastest on the stage, 6 seconds slower than Ogier. Takamoto Katsuta set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 1.8 seconds slower than Tänak. Andreas Mikkelsen rounded out the top five on the stage, 1.4 seconds slower than Katsuta.
Overall After Day Three Of Rallye Monte-Carlo
Thierry Neuville leads the rally and took home maximum points on Saturday under the new points system. Sebastien Ogier sits second overall, 3.3 seconds behind Neuville. Elfyn Evans lost a lot of time on the penultimate due to a hybrid issue. Now Evans sits 31.6 seconds behind Ogier and 34.9 seconds behind Neuville in third. Ott Tänak still sits far back from the front runners. As the Estonian is a minute and 12 seconds behind Evans and a minute and 46.9 seconds behind Neuville. Adrien Fourmaux sits another minute and 7.1 seconds behind Tänak and two minutes and 54 seconds behind Neuville.