A first: After a fabulous day at the Rally Sweden, Volkswagen Motorsport occupies the top three places in the overall standings. With a fastest time on the final special stage of the day, Sébastien Ogier was able to reclaim the top spot in the overall standings. Andreas Mikkelsen slipped into second place, but didn’t seem too disheartened at the finish line: “We lost some time because we were using old tyres. Tomorrow we will be able to use fresh material and can push hard again”. Jari-Matti Latvala also lost time on the special stage, but retains third place overall, ahead of the Estonian Ott Tänak (Ford).
Statements from the Volkswagen team.Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1“To be first onto the route at a winter rally in Sweden is always difficult. As such, I was not sure what position we would find ourselves in come the evening. Anything in the top three would have been great. I am really extremely happy that we are actually leading the rally. We now go into day two full of optimism.”Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2“I coped very well with the fast, flowing sections today. However, I unfortunately lost too much time on the short, winding stages. I had problems finding enough grip and a good rhythm on them. Tomorrow is a new day, and I start from a good position in third. Maybe I can mix things up a bit at the top of the standings.”Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9“That was definitely the best day I have had since I joined Volkswagen. I won three stages and led the rally – and all on my own doorstep. Then there were the many Norwegian flags, my family and friends who came here to cheer me on.I actually held a slender lead going into the final special stage of the day, but decided to save my tyres for tomorrow morning. As such, I lost a bit of time. My goal remains a podium finish.”19:20 (CET)
Three men – one aim.
Friday all set for round two of Volkswagen’s internal, three-way battle for victory
Well this is a new situation: for the first time, all three Volkswagen works drivers find themselves battling for victory. “The tests in December really paid off,” said last year’s winner Sébastien Ogier (Polo R WRC #1) in the finish area at the end of the first leg, revealing the secret behind the strong team performance. “We did a lot of work on the chassis set-up, and that was definitely apparent today.”
The World Champion returned to the Service Park in Hagfors as the overnight leader. “Andreas and Jari-Matti are really not making life easy for me,” said Ogier, summing up the day. The World Championship leader did not appear at all nervous, however. “Will be the last of the top drivers out on the course on Friday, so I can adjust my speed to match the opposition.”
In order to be as well-equipped as possible for the second leg of the rally, the Frenchman was careful to look after two of the tyres used on Thursday. “We can only take four new tyres with us tomorrow. Together with the two that we only used a little, that means I basically have six fresh tyres on board.” Friday’s itinerary features four special stages, with a total distance of 58 kilometres, before the first opportunity to change tyres.
Andreas Mikkelsen (Polo R WRC #9), who trailed Ogier by just 5.8 seconds in an impressive second place at the end of the first full day of action, also employed the same tactic. At times, the 24-year-old Norwegian found himself leading the rally. “It was a great moment when I moved into the lead on a special stage in my home country,” he said afterwards. Mikkelsen has no intention of throwing caution to the wind in an attempt to catch leader Ogier on Friday. “My goal is not to win this rally. We will continue to drive at our own pace. If we do that, we should be looking at a podium finish.”
Jari-Matti Latvala (Polo R WRC #2) completed the trio of Volkswagen drivers at the top of the overall standings. “I am not entirely happy with my day,” said the Finn. “I had a few problems changing gear. Somehow the gearstick got caught sometimes, particularly when shifting down. However, my mechanics will get it under control.”
Latvala does not view the 12.2-second gap to team-mate and leader Ogier as an insurmountable problem. “Only if it was 20 seconds or more would I abandon any thoughts of winning.” Looks as though the internal three-way battle is set to continue on Friday.18:20 (CET)
The WRC cars have a few extra kilos on board at the Rally Sweden – in the form of the tyres: the regulations specify that the “X-Ice North 2 WRC” spikes can bear a maximum of 384 studs. These are made of tungsten and must not weigh more than four grams each. That makes an additional weight of up to 1.54 kilos per tyre and 6.14 kilos per set of tyres.Rally legend Per Eklund explains:“What a fantastic battle at the top. It is great for the fans, and the atmosphere out on the route is incredible. The big surprise is obviously Andreas Mikkelsen. He is driving the rally of his life. The impression I have is that the Volkswagen drivers have everything under control. I think they could even go a bit quicker if they wanted. Let’s see what the weather is like tomorrow. That could put the cat among the pigeons again.”
