RALLY SWEDEN – DAY TWO REPORT

Hyundai Motorsport remains in the hunt for a podium finish in Rally Sweden, the second event of the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC)
Overnight leader Thierry Neuville dropped down the order during the morning stages but rebounded to third place after a spirited run on the repeat loop
Oliver Solberg continued to hold fifth, however a throttle issue ahead of the final stage lost him time. He ended the day in seventh place overall.

Umeå, Sweden

February 26, 2022 – Hyundai Motorsport remains in contention for a podium finish in Rally Sweden, as the penultimate day of the winter event concluded with a committed performance from Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe.

Saturday’s schedule consisted of six stages, a repeated loop of three timed tests that saw crews venture to the most southerly stage of the rally (SS10/SS14 Långed – 19.49km). The day opened with Brattby (SS8/SS12 – 10.49km) and ended close to the Umeå Service Park (SS11/SS15 -11.17km) with an extended version of the Friday night sprint stage.

The Belgian crew, overnight leaders by 4.3-seconds, relinquished their position after the opening stage of the day and continued to lose ground throughout the morning loop. A small error in SS11 dropped the duo down to fourth heading into lunchtime service.

Never one to give up, Neuville rebounded quickly in the afternoon to close the gap to third-placed Esapekka Lappi to 0.3-seconds, a deficit that was overhauled in the darkness of Långed 2. Despite a brief brush with a snowbank, the crew moved back into third spot.

Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson were unable to replicate their strong pace from Friday but focused on cementing their fifth place. The crew was on course to achieve that until a throttle issue after the day’s penultimate test. They checked in late to the final Umeå stage, incurring time penalties, and then had to nurse their car to the finish. The resultant time loss dropped them down to seventh overall.

Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja re-joined the rally on Saturday morning, having been forced to retire with a hybrid issue while competing for the lead on Friday afternoon. The Estonians were intent on enjoying the final two days of the event in their Hyundai i20 N Rally1.

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)

Overnight leaders ended the morning loop down in fourth place
A determined push saw the crew regain their provisional podium

Neuville said: “Not an easy day for us today, but we are in third place which I think would be a great achievement for us if we can hang onto that position tomorrow. We had a complicated morning; we were trying our best but the other three were going really quick. It was hard to resist them. We also went wide under braking in the final morning stage, and I had to spin the car round which lost us a couple of seconds. I thought we might have a chance in the dark stages to catch back some time, and we were able to gain back a position. Our main issue this weekend has been under braking, and we still have some work to do on the chassis to gain more confidence in this area. Let’s see what’s possible tomorrow – if we can finish on the podium, I’ll be satisfied.”

Crew Notes: Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (#2 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)

Crew focused on confirming their fifth place during Saturday’s six stages
Throttle issue lost them substantial time and two positions – ending the day in seventh

Solberg said: “It is difficult to say exactly what happened. It seems we had a throttle issue after the long stage this afternoon; certainly, the car was not moving forward! Elliott and I, with quick communications from the team, tried to repair it. We were at least able to make it to the end of the day, which was the most important thing. This morning, things were not clicking, neither with the car nor with myself. We changed some stuff, and the car was behaving more consistently. I could push again, which was nice, back a little to the rhythm from yesterday. I couldn’t take huge risks, but the times were good. We go again tomorrow.”

Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)

Re-joined the rally after hybrid issues forced the Estonians to retire on Friday afternoon
Crew focused on their job, bringing the car through the stages to complete the day

Tänak said: “We had nice conditions in the morning, the first stage was more snowy and the second one more icy and technical. We had to come back under re-start regulations, so we just had to do our job and have some fun. The pace didn’t really matter much, as we are not competing for anything meaningful. The second loop was tricky – harder work than in the gym. Tomorrow’s stages are generally fast, with straights and high-speed corners. It will be special.”

Deputy Team Director Julien Moncet said: “The podium was our target heading into this rally, so we are quite happy to be in third position at the end of Saturday. Of course, the rally isn’t over until it’s over, but we will aim to maintain this podium place by the end of the event. It has been a good day for Thierry, unfortunately less so for Oliver. He did exactly what we expected from him – consistent and focused on trying to secure fifth place. There were some improvements to his car set-up during the day and he was getting better into the afternoon. Unfortunately, a throttle issue slowed him down during the final stage, which was frustrating but, overall, he did a good job. Ott could re-join this morning and he spent his day improving the mileage and reliability of the car. He’ll aim to grab some points from this rally.”

Sunday at a Glance

Four stages remain left to contest in the 2022 edition of Rally Sweden, located north-west of the Umeå Service Park
Sunday’s itinerary, totalling 56.84km, gets underway in the early hours with the first pass of Vindeln (14.19km) taking place at 7am local time
Crews move onto Sarsjöliden (14.23km) before Vindeln is repeated ahead a remote refuel
The second run through the Sarsjöliden test will act as the rally’s Power Stage with the usual extra points available for the top-five crews.

Classification after Day Two

K. Rovanperä

J. Halttunen

Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

1:45:26.7

E. Evans

S. Martin

Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

+8.3

T. Neuville

M. Wydaeghe

Hyundai i20 N Rally1