A challenging Rally Sweden ended on a high note for the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team with three stage wins out of three on the final day. This included victory in the Power Stage for Esapekka Lappi, who also gained two places in the overall classification to finish fourth.
In his second rally with the team, Ott Tänak achieved six of these fastest times, including on the first stage of the final day. There, Esapekka Lappi and Jari-Matti Latvala gave Toyota its second one-two-three stage result of the rally, with Lappi gaining a place overall to move up to fifth. He then won the second pass of the Likenäs stage before triumphing in the Torsby Power Stage, enough to gain fourth by 8.6 seconds. Latvala completed the rally in seventh place with Tänak ninth. The Estonian driver also scored the final Power Stage point in fifth.
FINAL RESULT, RALLY SWEDEN
- 1
- Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)2h52.13.1s
- 2
- Craig Breen / Scott Martin (Citroen C3 WRC)+19.8s
- 3
- Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jaeger (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)+28.3s
- 4
- Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm (Toyota Yaris WRC)+45.8s
- 5
- Hayden Paddon / Sebastian Marshall (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)+54.4s
- 6
- Mads Østberg / Torstein Eriksen (Citroen C3 WRC)+1m15.3s
- 7
- Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC)+2m04.9s
- 8
- Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula (Ford Fiesta WRC)+2m52.2s
- 9
- Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC)+3m44.4s
- 10
- Sebastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (Ford Fiesta WRC)+8m45.4s
Rally Mexico (March 8-11) is next. It’s the first gravel event of the season, known in particular for ambient temperatures in the region of 30°C and a route that peaks at 2,737m above sea level, starving engines of air and cutting power by as much as 20 per cent.
