WRC – Rovanperä seals third WRC career victory at Rally Sweden
2022 Rally Sweden – Sunday report
Kalle Rovanperä secured an emphatic victory at Rally Sweden on Sunday afternoon – 21 years after father Harri claimed his sole FIA World Rally Championship win at the event.
The Finn, navigated by Jonne Halttunen, scored his third career success by 22.0sec after Toyota GR Yaris team-mate Elfyn Evans crashed out in a snowbank on the final morning. Rovanperä leads the series by 14 points after round two of 13.
Rovanperä was only four months old when his father triumphed at the WRC’s only pure winter fixture in 2001 in a Peugeot 206 World Rally Car.
Five different drivers led during a fast and furious opening day near Umeå in the most northerly Rally Sweden ever. Rovanperä regained the initiative early on the second leg, but Evans remained hot on his heels before his untimely exit.
“I didn’t think we could be this good, especially starting first on the road on Friday,” enthused Rovanperä. “It was quite a big job but the team did a great job also and the car was great all the time. I feel so much more confident now.”
“I didn’t feel like celebrating too much now. It has been a really difficult weekend for the people in Ukraine and I really hope they have the strength and hope in these difficult times,” he added.
Following on from Rovanperä’s thoughts, the final podium ceremony held in the center of Umeå opened with a request to the audience to pause for a short period of solidarity with the people of Ukraine in these trouble times and to stand for global peace.
Evans was fighting to overcome a 10sec penalty imposed late on Saturday night when he slammed into a snowbank in Sunday’s opening speed test. The Welshman tried to make repairs but the front of his car was damaged too badly to continue.
After a disappointing opening round last month, second place for Thierry Neuville provided a timely boost for Hyundai Motorsport. The Belgian survived a couple of brushes with the snowbanks in his i20 N and he kept a chasing Esapekka Lappi at bay.
Lappi, back in Toyota Gazoo Racing’s line-up after a three-year absence, eventually finished 8.6sec behind Neuville to promote the Japanese marque into top spot in the manufacturers’ championship, 24 points ahead of M-Sport Ford.
Takamoto Katsuta made it three GR Yaris cars in the top four, a further 1min 48.8sec adrift. Gus Greensmith overcame a troubled opening leg, when a trip into the snow and gearbox problems delayed him, to end fifth in a Ford Puma.
Oliver Solberg was in the midst of the lead battle on the opening day but throttle problems on his i20 N cost time on Saturday and he dropped to sixth.
FIA WRC2 winner Andreas Mikkelsen was seventh in a Toksport-entered Škoda Fabia Evo ahead of fellow support category drivers Ole Christian Veiby, at the wheel of a Volkswagen Polo GTI, Jari Huttunen (M-Sport Ford Fiesta Mk II) and Egon Kaur, in another Polo.
It was a scintillating battle between the two Norwegian friends as they traded times from start to finish.
Veiby set the initial pace and built a small lead through Friday but surrendered the position to Mikkelsen after dropping around 20sec with a stall at SS7.
The Toksport driver edged out a small buffer on Saturday afternoon and carried a 10.9sec lead into the final day, but Veiby more than halved that deficit on Sunday’s opening pair of stages.
Just as the scrap hit fever pitch, Veiby’s comeback fell to pieces when he spun his Volkswagen Polo GTI at Vindeln 2.
The mishap cost 17.3sec, enabling Mikkelsen to cruise through the Wolf Power Stage and clinch his second consecutive win after Rally Monte-Carlo as well as seventh overall. The difference at the finish was 23.2sec.
In the FIA Junior WRC class, Jon Armstrong’s campaign started strongly as he fended off Lauri Joona to take victory on Sunday.
The chase for glory at the championship opener quickly became a two-horse race when early leaders Sami Pajari and Robert Virves retired on Friday.
Joona picked up the mantle to lead the M-Sport Poland Ford Fiesta Rally3 field after the opening day, but Armstrong swooped ahead at Saturday’s Brattby speed test. The pair traded positions three times throughout day two, but it was Armstrong who held a 3.5sec advantage heading into the final leg.
An early morning charge brought Joona back into the top spot, but he was relegated once more on the penultimate blast.
A stage win at Sarsjöliden confirmed Armstrong’s victory by just 2.7sec at the end of one of the closest battles in Junior WRC history.
Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy star William Creighton ended 2min 19.8sec behind Joona to clinch his first ever Junior WRC podium, whilst East African hotshot Mcrae Kimathi finished fourth.
After Friday’s disappointment, defending champion Pajari scored several stage wins to finish 49min 28.4sec back from the winner, whilst Virves completed the leaderboard another 11min 05.9sec behind.
The series pauses for an early-season break before returning at the Croatia Rally on 21-24 April. The asphalt event is based in capital city Zagreb.
The final unofficial results can be consulted here.