Esapekka Lappi (Hyundai i20) ended the second day of competition of the Rally of Sweden as leader on Friday. The Finn took full advantage of his starting position and won four special stages. The Japanese Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota Yaris) is second at 3.2. The Swede Oliver Solberg (Skoda Fabia) ensures an unprecedented top three at 1:17.5. Thierry Neuville (Hyundai i20) has to make up 2:46.0 in eleventh.
Bron: BELGIAN
The fresh snow caused the participants a lot of headaches. Not least Neuville, who had to be the first on the track. Halfway through the day the Belgian was fifth. Ott Tänak (Hyundai i20) and Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota Yaris) had already given up. Katsuta was in the lead halfway through. In the afternoon the rankings were completely turned upside down. In the longest stage of the day, Lappi took over the lead from Katsuta. “We have to take today's confidence and focus on the rest of the rally. Of course I took advantage of my starting position, but I was also fast,” said the Finn.
Neuville arrived four minutes late at the start of FP6 and was given a 40-second penalty. It is the topic of conversation in Umea. Evans alluded to unsportsmanlike behavior, while Neuville said it was a technical problem. “I just tried to get through the day. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Hopefully it will be a problem-free day and I can enjoy more.” Neuville starts fifth on Saturday, a perfect starting position.
Grégoire Munster (Ford Puma) had a puncture on Friday morning and lost almost five minutes, even dropping out of the top twenty. Now he is eighteenth again, at 6:39.8. “I'm glad this crazy day is over. The weather forecasters on the team told me it would be like Star Wars. I never saw that movie, but now I understand what they mean.”