Estonian Ott Tänak (M-Sport Ford) leads the way after 15 of the 18 stages on the program for Rally Sweden, the second round of the 2023 World Rally Championship (WRC) season, on Saturday evening.
Second at the start of the day, Tänak gradually caught up with the Irishman Craig Breen (Hyundai) during the 7 specials of the day to finally beat him by 8.6 seconds at the end of this long day.
Distanced by more than twenty seconds, a duo is fighting for third place on the podium. It is Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) and Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota). Advantage for the moment to the Belgian driver who finished the day in a cannonball and has a 3.8 second lead over the Finn.
Author of four scratches (best time in the special), the German-speaking rider has really raised the bar after a gloomy Friday that he finished in 6th place, 36 seconds from the lead.
Behind these two, the Briton Elfyn Evans suffered all day and concedes more than 30 seconds. Long in 3rd position, the Finn Esapekka Lappi meanwhile made a big mistake on SS13. A spin that definitely compromised his rally.
On Sunday, the drivers will have 3 stages for a total of more than 60km to maintain or improve their current position. Umea 2’s PowerStage will be followed live from 12:18 p.m. on RTBF.
Sunday’s program
ES16 : Vastervik 1 (26.48 km – 7H05)
ES17 : Vastervik 2 (26.48 km – 10H05)
ES18 : Umea 2, Power Stage (10,08 km – 12H18) → Live video