More emotions in Sweden: Katsuta is also out, Lappi towards victory!

Just as predicted yesterday, Rally Sweden 2024 will go down in history as one of the most difficult. After yesterday Kalle Rovanpera and Ott Tanak they got caught up in accidents which crushed their ambitions in the overall ranking, forcing them to resort to Super Rally to start again in today’s stage, today it was the turn of Takamoto Katsuta pay the price to the treacherous Swedish snow walls. The Japanese is went off the road in the tenth special stage, damaging his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 and getting stuck with no escape. Thus the dream of the first world championship triumph for the Japanese driver from Toyota fades away: he too will have to start again with the Super Rally for tomorrow’s stage. Esa-Pekka Lappiwith the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 this year will only drive in selected races, thanks and takes flight. For Finnish a victory is approaching which relaunches him into the “Olympus” of the best and allows him to relaunch himself afterwards a 2023 truly fraught with difficulties.

FOURMAUX SURPRISE IN SECOND PLACE

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And another rider who can greatly raise his prices on the Swedish snow is Adrien Fourmaux. The French of M-Sport occupies the provisional second place, demonstrating that it has acquired considerable maturity after the many disastrous setbacks suffered in 2022 with Puma. Malcolm Wilson laughs under his moustache: despite having had to give up the services of Ott Tanak, his team he can still carve out great satisfaction. The atmosphere is very different Elfyn Evans than with his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 he is only third, paying a minute and fifteen seconds of delay from Lappi: really too much for what was indicated as the obligatory favorite in Rovanpera’s succession to the WRC championship. Good for Evans for that Thierry Neuville you complain about a delay towards him one minute and eleven seconds. In addition to the problems of yesterday’s stage, with the engine damaged by the opening of the bonnet, to the Belgian from Hyundai a forty second penalty was added: for the winner of Monte Carlo the Swedish race proceeds below a true “Murphy’s law”.

SUPER SOLBERG IN WRC 2, BUT THE TOYOTAs GROW

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The comeback of the “big” has extinguished the dream of Oliver Solberg to conquer a sensational overall podium with the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, but the Swede he still wants to leave his mark on the snows of Umea. For the meantime, it still is fifth overalland it would still be the highest placing in the overall ranking for a driver WRC 2 in the recent history of the World Rally Championship. But watch out Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 which are proving themselves extremely competitiveupsetting the balance of the category. Sami Pajari he took the lead of the chasing pack and is now sixth with a delay of fifty-six seconds from Solberg, therefore still in play for victory in WRC 2. However, they also remain very close Linnamaethe former WRC 3 champion Korhonen And Heikkila who occupy positions from seventh to ninth. Dropped in the rankings Nikolay Gryazin after having stuck in the snow with his Citroen C3 Rally2, the Finn completes the Absolute Top Ten Lauri Joonaa very private individual capable of excellent performances with his Skoda Fabia and considered by many “heir” of Rovanpera, Lappi and Suninen.

WRC 3, FIGHT TO THE DEATH

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In JWRC And WRC 3 the fight for victory she’s really fierce and was restricted to Swedish A thousand Johansson and to Estonian Romet Jurgenson, separated by just forty-seven seconds. That the two are committed is demonstrated by their closeness in the rankings to Michal Sololowsolid leader of the WRC Masters Cup with the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2: Ricardo Trivino he is too far away to be able to steal the victory, while Marko Viitanen he plummeted in the rankings after having resorted to the Super Rally and is now only fifty-first, albeit “very close” to the various Katsuta, Rovanpera and Tanak who are now positioned from the forty-seventh to the forty-ninth position overall and can only hope for the Umea final Power Stage to mark some points.

BERTELLI “DREAMS” OF THE TOP TEN, MILANI STILL KO, FONTANA DOES WELL

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In a Rally Sweden that has become a real fight for survival -the last to pay duty on Scandinavian ice was Grégoire Munster went a long way in the snow with his Ford Puma Rally1 despite a “conservative” driving that had precluded him from any chance of high ranking – he is starting to make himself noticed positively also Lorenzo Bertelli. The Italian continues to make no mistakes with his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 and now navigate to eleventh position, very close to the overall points zone. An error or the retirement of only one rider ahead of him it would pave his way to the Top Ten. It continues to occupy thirty-third place Matteo Fontana with the Peugeot 208 Rally4, while the ordeal of Oreste Milani with his Ford Fiesta Rally3: restarted with the Super Rally, after a handful of special stages he was forced to stop again. Tomorrow the last stagewith three special tests and starting at half past seven Vastervik. The final Power Stage of Umea it will be at a quarter past twelve, and it will close one of the most electrifying rallies in recent years in the history of the WRC…