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Rally Sweden: Evans leads in “less complicated” conditions than expected

2020-02-14T18:51:05.119Z


Briton Elfyn Evans took the lead in the Scandinavian race while Sébastien Ogier was too cautious and only came in 4th in the standings.


Briton Elfyn Evans took control of a shortened version of Rally Sweden on Friday due to a lack of snow and ice, conditions deemed however "less complicated" than expected by some drivers. The Toyota driver led from start to finish the first day but had to watch closely the Estonian Ott Tänak (Hyundai), reigning world champion and winner of the 2019 edition, author of two scratch times out of four. Driving his Yaris, Evans signed the other two scratch times, enough to be a little more than eight seconds ahead of his runner-up at the end of the day. "The sensations with the car were really good and we cannot complain about a day like that (...) but we have to start all over tomorrow (...) We will have to adapt to what awaits us", said the Welshman at the end of the day.

3 stages done ✅ @RallySweden is underway! ❄️

Get on board with @MSportLtd getting through the morning stages! #GoFurther@FordPerformancepic.twitter.com/29Zzf72Ej3

- World Rally Championship - WRC (@OfficialWRC) February 14, 2020

Saturday, three stages between Sweden and Norway - identical to Friday's - are on the program, followed by a 2.8 km sprint. The Rally of Sweden, the second round of the WRC world championship and the only event to be contested in 100% winter conditions, has been shortened due to the particularly mild weather conditions for the season. The usually iced asphalt has given way to dirt on many parts of the route, not making it easier for studded tires to grip on open ground. The drop in temperatures that occurred during the night from Thursday to Friday however delighted the crews. "It was much colder than expected, the tires did not overheat too much, the studs held more or less (...) it was much less complicated than what we thought", welcomed Thierry Neuville (Hyundai), sixth Friday evening. On Wednesday, the Belgian said he feared losing his nails "after a few kilometers" and "ending up in certain places with traces of snow".

️ "I think the conditions weren't too bad today, close to normal winter conditions. A little too much soil in places, but in some parts we had a good grip and we had fun. went well in the end, we'll see tomorrow "pic.twitter.com/dGQqmP8mlk

- Sébastien Ogier (@SebOgier) February 14, 2020

Frenchman Sébastien Ogier (Toyota), fourth Friday evening 17''8 from the leader, is already seeing his chances of victory diminish. “The gaps are large. Going to catch Elfyn on such a short rally is likely to be complicated in the regular, ”said six-time WRC world champion after Friday's specials. Ogier considers that he was "too careful, especially on the slightly icy parts (...) at the end of the specials". Throughout the day, the drivers continued to alternate driving on ice and on gravel, conditions which are reminiscent of the Monte-Carlo rally - except that normal tires are prohibited on the Rally from Sweden, where only studded tires are allowed. The rally should end on Sunday, weather permitting. A final stage will be run twice, the second, the Power Stage, offering bonus points in the driver classification. As it stands, the course of the 2020 edition only includes ten specials instead of 19, i.e. 169.74 km timed instead of 300, around Torsby (west-central Sweden).

Read also

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Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2020-02-14

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