Sébastien Ogier has maintained his lead of Rally Sweden but the reigning FIA World Rally Champion came under mounting pressure from Hayden Paddon during the second day of competition. While the Frenchman has managed to keep his grasp on the top slot, the Kiwi driver carved into his advantage and just 8.8 seconds separated the battling rivals midway through the day. Tonight, Ogier’s lead is back to 17.1 seconds with Paddon now keen to secure the second WRC podium finish of his career. Mads Østberg dropped a position earlier in the day, but the Norwegian is back up to third again this evening, leading the challenge for M-Sport.
Conditions in today’s four forest stages were tricky, plunging temperatures and overnight snowfall creating a loose and slippery surface. Ogier thought he would lose out in today’s opener, but the stage victory ensured he extended his advantage. In the second stage, however, he lost out dramatically and dropped more than 20 seconds to second-placed Paddon who was running seventh on the road. With just 8.8 seconds separating them, Ogier was clearly on the edge and flat out everywhere this afternoon, so much so he had a massive and uncharacteristic moment in the fourth stage. But, with Paddon having to manage tyre wear further down the field on less snowy roads, Ogier was able to claw back some of his advantage by the end of the day. Behind Paddon, Østberg dropped from third to fourth in the first stage after sliding wide, but the Norwegian retook the position when Andreas Mikkelsen spun.
Behind Mikkelsen, Ott Tanak hasn’t fared well over some of the sections of frozen gravel, the DMACK-shod Fiesta running far better yesterday on the snow-covered stages. He is however fifth and ahead of Dani Sordo, the Spaniard dropping time with a puncture early in the day. WRC returnee Henning Solberg is seventh after some small mistakes but he is under pressure from Craig Breen who is a mere 3.6 seconds adrift. The Irish driver is having a dream start to his DS 3 WRC career, determined to show his known potential.
Kris Meeke and Jari-Matti Latvala continue under Rally 2 regulations, the latter winning three stages today, including the closing super special stage. They are however in 24th and 26th positions respectively. The only leading retirement was Eric Camilli who rolled his Fiesta in the first stage.
Elfyn Evans continues to head a host of local drivers in the FIA WRC 2 Championship. The Welsh Fiesta R5 driver heads Škoda rival Pontus Tidemand, but only 17.9 seconds separate the duo with just the Power Stage left to run on Sunday. Michel Fabre, the only competitor in the FIA WRC 3 Championship category, continues his unchallenged run to the finish.
01. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen, 1h 52m 04.7s02. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard (NZ/NZ), Hyundai, + 17.1s03. Mads Østberg/Ola Fløene (N/N), Ford, + 42.3s04. Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger (N/N), Volkswagen, + 1m 07.4s05. Ott Tänak/Raigo Mõlder (EST/EST), Ford, + 1m 31.6s06. Dani Sordo/Marc Martí (E/E), Hyundai, + 1m 56.3s07. Henning Solberg/Ilka Minor (N/A), Ford, + 2m 17.2s08. Craig Breen/Scott Martin (IRL/GB), Citroën, + 2m 20.8s09. Elfyn Evans/Craig Parry (GB/GB), Ford, + 4m 44.7s10. Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson (S/S), Škoda, + 5m 02.6s
