The first full day of action on Sweden’s snow- and ice-covered road would see some fantastic action and very interesting stage results. Coming into the seven stages Elfyn led from Ott and Kalle. It was a very good start for the Toyota pair.
First up then was SS2 Bygdsiljum 1 – 28.27 km and it was Elfyn who was fastest from Takamoto and Ott. A nice surprise for the number 33 crew as they increased their lead over the Estonian’s to 2.7 seconds. Takamoto’s pace brought him and Aaron into third overall, 6.5 from the leaders and past Adrien, Thierry and Kalle. The Finns were really struggling out there. There was drama for Sami and Marko. Earlier in the stage they were setting a really great pace before hitting a snowbank and pushing a rear tyre off the wheel rim. They dropped a couple of positions to ninth place after looking likely to move up the leaderboard.
Onto SS3 Andersvattnet 1 – 20.51 km and Adrien showed great pace winning the stage from Elfyn and Ott. Takamoto was also right on the pace setting an identical time to Ott. Adrien’s pace brought him ahead of Takamoto and into third overall. Meanwhile Elfyn continued to lead the rally now with a 3.9 second lead over Ott.
The final morning stage then, SS4 Bäck 1 – 10.80 km and it was a second stage win in a row for the French duo at Hyundai. Elfyn was still setting great pace going second fastest and Takamoto third. Adrien moved into second overall pushing his teammate Ott down to third. Further down the leaderboard Kalle was on the move, passing Thierry for fifth overall.
After the lunchtime service came SS5 Bygdsiljum 2 – 28.27 km and Takamoto was fastest this time from Thierry and Martins. The Japanese star with his Irish co-driver moved into the lead as Elfyn and Scott could only manage the seventh best time and was now 5.8 seconds from their teammate.
Following that was SS6 Andersvattnet 2 – 20.51 km and Ott was fastest from Elfyn and Martins. Elfyn moved back into the lead with Takamoto and Ott remained third. Martins remained the top placed Ford driver holding seventh place.
Onto the penultimate stage of the day then, SS7 Bäck 2 – 10.80 km and Thierry found some pace at last going fastest from Ott and Sami. This all led to a change at the top as Elfyn could only manage the eighth best time and was now half a second from new overall leader Ott who leapfrogged Takamoto and Elfyn.
There were more changes at the end of SS8 Umeå Sprint 2 – 5.16 km as Elfyn was fastest from Thierry and Takamoto. Ott fell again to third place. At the end of the final stage just 2.5 seconds covered the top three.
Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Saturday
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Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“It’s been very close out there today. Sometimes it’s suited us to be running at the front and sometimes it hasn’t. This morning it was pretty good for us but the grip was still quite changeable and difficult to read. The afternoon was not so kind for us and even the last stage felt quite messy but still the time was good. Compared to how it’s been when we’ve opened the road here in the past, we should probably be quite happy to be in the lead after Friday, but the gaps are very tight so let’s see how tomorrow plays out.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“Today has been very good. It has felt very comfortable: we have not been pushing crazy hard but still the times have been coming. I’m enjoying it a lot so it’s going well so far but there’s still some way to go. At the moment it’s very tight in the top five; one mistake could cost a lot, so I will try to continue in the same way and have another clean day tomorrow. The starting positions should be more equal, and the conditions should be good so I’m looking forward to it.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“It hasn’t been the best day for us. I was struggling more than I was expecting with my feeling in the car and how my driving style is working together with the tyre. We tried many small things during the day and made some steps, so we had a slightly better feeling this afternoon, but we’re still not in the place we want to be. If we can find something more for tomorrow then hopefully it will be a better day and we can be more among the top times.”
Sami Pajari
“The feeling was really good in the first stage this morning: it felt quite clean with a nice flow, and I didn’t feel I was pushing that much. In one place we hit the snowbank, which is quite normal on a snow rally, but for some reason the tyre came off the rim. It was disappointing to lose so much time, and without that it could have been a really good day. But it’s all about the learning, and there’s still two more days to drive and enjoy.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak
“We tried to put a consistent run together, but it was not so much fun in the car today, so we are for sure looking forward to tomorrow. We need to use the used tyres in the right moment and make sure you finish them, but the last two stages were more icy and the fresh tyre was probably more needed there. Normally when it’s icy it’s very good for the first car on the road and then normally the ice breaks down more and more, the layer seems to be a bit thicker so maybe it will last a bit more tomorrow, but we will see.”
Round 02, Rally Sweden
13-16 February 2025
Photographer: Dufour Fabien
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Adrien Fourmaux
“It was a really positive day; I think everybody enjoyed the conditions; it was really nice this morning with a lot of ice. This afternoon, as expected, we saw the gravel in the ruts, and we had to manage our tyres a bit more to try our best to not be lose too much to the others with better road positions. I don’t have too much experience on snow, but I am enjoying it, trying to do my best and use my experience from last year. It seems to be working really well and we want it to continue like this tomorrow. It will be more icy, and the loop is shorter than today so it’s going to be easier for the tyres. Tomorrow will be full attack for everybody.”
Thierry Neuville
“We knew this morning that we had to keep calm and accept that we were losing time, but we also knew that the afternoon would be to our advantage. I think we made the best out of it and I’m pretty satisfied with how the second loop went – the feeling was better. We are missing experience on the tyres and with the setup as well; the amount of understeer left me a bit surprised. It’s going to be a big push out there tomorrow, but if the feeling is like it was this afternoon then we will definitely be in the game.”
WRC2
Oliver Solberg
“Honestly, I can tell you, I have been really feeling the love coming from the forest today.”
“It’s so nice to see so many fans out there – I have to thank them all very much for the cheering and the waving of the flags! For the driving, it’s been good. We have made some nice times and we’re in the lead, but I think there is still some more speed to come from me and the car.
“I feel like we’ve visited nearly every snowbank along the way today!
“We’re going to have a look at the car tonight and see if we can change something for tomorrow. The conditions have been nice and quite consistent for us – it’s such a pleasure to drive a winter rally when it’s like this.”
Saturday
The second full day will see the crews tackle 97km’s over seven stages. Who will make the best of the conditions out there? Elfyn and Scott’s drive on the full first day has been remarkable given that they were opening the road and to lead this rally shows they are right there this year. Long may it continue!
