The 2024 Rally Sweden gave many of the top drivers in the World Rally Championship (WRC) some worry lines on Friday. With Ott Tänak and Kalle Rovanperä, two big names dropped out on special stage (SS) 4, but Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans also fell far behind. A hot duel broke out at the front between Esapekka Lappi and Takamoto Katsuta.
The morning caused a lot of drama on the snow-covered slopes of Sweden: especially on the fourth special stage (WP 4), a number of top drivers lost a lot of time or even retired. Lappi then managed to take the lead in the overall rally standings on stage 7. With a special stage victory in his Hyundai i20, he passed Toyota driver Katsuta, but the Japanese remained on the Finn’s heels.
Lappi says: “It’s difficult to estimate how fast we have to be. If we’re just a few centimeters off, then that’s it, because it’s impossible [das Auto] to control. That’s not aquaplaning, that’s snowplaning. There is a very thin line to walk in these conditions. Even if we play it safe, we can [das Auto] lose.”
Katsuta had previously won special stages 5 and 6, but Lappi didn’t let the Toyota driver escape from the front. With a commanding victory on stage 7 and a lead of 2.1 seconds, Lappi took the lead. On the last stage, the Hyundai driver further extended his lead and finished Friday with a lead of 3.2 seconds.
Hyundai driver Neuville and M-Sport Ford driver Munster had to struggle with technical problems. At Neuville the hood came off and flapped around for almost an entire stage. Munster lost a rear left window. Evans got caught in a snowdrift on SS 7 and lost a lot of ground to the two leaders.
Lappi leads Katsuta by 3.2 seconds after eight special stages. Third is WRC2 leader Oliver Solberg, 5.6 seconds ahead of Adrien Fourmaux. Evans is fifth, a further 23.7 seconds behind the Frenchman. Neuville is sixth, the Belgian is 56 seconds behind Evans.
So Lappi and Katsuta make for a surprising duel at the top, but if the two Rally1 drivers get into trouble, there is a chance that a WRC2 driver will win the Rally Sweden. On Saturday the special stages 9 to 15 are on the program, on Sunday the decision will be made on the special stages 16 to 18.