Evans is third after the morning. However, the Welshman is already a minute and 40 seconds behind the rally-leading Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi.
Yesterday conditions in Sweden were really severe, but Saturday has dawned sunny.
“In terms of driving, it’s been a lot better”, Evans said.
“Obviously, the conditions are way, way different, and it’s much easier to enjoy the stages”, Evans continued.
Evans’ lead over the Rally2 driver Oliver Solberg behind him is almost 45 seconds. A podium position is a clear goal.
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville is currently fifth, behind Solberg. Neuville has not been able to get his car to work at any point.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s not a secret”, Neuville commented on the issues with his car.
“I came back to my pre-event test setup, which wasn’t really great either. And yesterday was nothing we could do in the in the conditions to really find anything good. To prepare today, obviously quite different conditions today and I’m just not feeling comfortable and, I feel like the car is not fast enough,” frustrated Belgian lamented.
Conditions are now much better than on Friday, but the second loop in the afternoon is expected to present challenges again.
“Second pass is always tricky. You always want to go faster then on the first pass. But some of the corners might be even more tricky. There could be also a lot of snow on the road. So it’s always a bit of a challenge to find the right balance between going faster than on the first pass without overdriving and getting stuck in a snowbank. We saw this morning again. Obviously ‘Taka’ got catched by a snow bank, very small mistake with huge consequences. And that’s what we need to avoid this afternoon,” Neuville anticipated.
Neuville had engine problems on Friday and was late to the start of the sixth special stage. Elfyn Evans speculated it might have been tactics, but Neuville firmly stuck to his version. According to him, the technical issue was real.
“It is resolved. But the message was that it could still appear again.”
Neuville’s goal for the second loop in the afternoon is clear.
“Still fingers crossed that we end up P3 tonight, but I would say that chances are only fourth place.”
