RallySport Magazine March 2017

REPORT: RALLY SWEDEN - WRC 2
Eighteen years after their last
WRC victory, Toyota was again
winning a World Championship
Rally, and the winner was Jari-Matti
Latvala, exactly nine years after his first
WRC victory when he became the WRC’s
youngest victor.
Now he is the championship’s most
experienced driver, and during this time
he has won this specialist event in three
different makes of car.
The 2017 event started with a great
battle between Hyundai’s Thierry
Neuville and Latvala, but on the final
stage of the Saturday, just like in Monte
Carlo, Neuville went off the road when
leading.
Ott Tanak overcame mechanical
troubles and finished second, while his
M-Sport teammate, Sebastien Ogier,
suffered from road conditions and
scored no fastest stage times for the
first time in four years, and struggled to
finish third.
Citroen drivers again had a
disappointingly inconsistent
performance, not helped by technical
problems.
Pontus Tidemand dominated the
WRC2 category through days two and
three, winning 11 of the 17 stages.
After pre-event worries, the weather
provided classic conditions and created
To the victors,
the spoils.
a unique show.
As at Monte Carlo, Thierry Neuville
was the pacemaker in the early stages,
making full use of disadvantageous
running conditions for rivals further
in front. Suffering especially were
Ogier, Latvala and Tanak, but Latvala
and Tanak (despite more gearshifting
problems) impressively defied form and
gave chase.
The later running Citroen of Kris
Meeke spent time in a snowbank and
Disaster again for Thierry Neuville
who was on track for victory.
he misjudged his tyre wear, but was still
not far behind the leaders.
By virtue of a major attack on the
penultimate stage of the first day,
Friday evening saw Neuville nearly a
half minute in front. A big surprise
after three stages was the privately run
2017 Fiesta WRC of Mads Ostberg, lying
fifth ahead of the three official M-Sport
cars.
Later that afternoon, however,
Ostberg suffered a frightening moment
when the whole rear wing detached
itself at a jump. Happily the car stayed
on the road, but it is the first really
worrying moment in the new aero rally
car era. The car was withdrawn so safe
repairs could be effected.
On the Saturday the new rules
changed the top driver running
order, and it was less significant.
On the penultimate Saturday
stage, Latvala dropped back with badly
wearing tyres, and was now 43 seconds
behind.
But then on the short publicity
stage Neuville broke his steering and
suddenly Latvala was in the lead, 3.8
seconds ahead of Tanak, with Ogier
close behind. It was suddenly ‘game
on’, with three drivers within sight of
victory, with three stages of the event
left.
This was where nerves had to turn
to steel. Latvala publicly said: “Even if
I cannot win, second place would be
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14 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - MARCH 2017