Hyundai’s Ott Tänak’s effort came to an abrupt end on the fourth special stage. The Estonian bit into a snowbank, damaging his car to the extent that continuation became impossible.
Tänak attempted to limp to the finish but was unable to proceed. His car remained on the road, creating a real hazard.
M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux came perilously close to colliding with Tänak’s stranded vehicle. Fortunately, the Estonian noticed the approaching Frenchman in time and managed to slightly evade.
“It was a really close call, to be fair. We were on a really fast corner, flat, nearly 180, it was at the exit,” Fourmaux remarked at the end of the stage.
Tänak’s season has started on a difficult note. He was quickly out of the fight for victory in Monte Carlo, and now his rally has immediately gone awry.
And more drama followed. Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä also had to withdraw. Damage to the rear of Rovanperä’s car meant that continuation was no longer feasible.
M-Sport’s Gregoire Munster also encountered problems, but he managed to reach the end of the stage.
The rally situation was completely overturned. Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta rose to the lead. He now leads the rally by a margin of 11.4 seconds over Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi. Lappi too had an incident, with the front of his car taking a hit from a heavy contact with a snowbank.
“We touched a bank quote heavily somewhere around 10kms. I saw Ott had stooped, Kalle is stopped, so it didn’t really give much confidence. IT was messy, no grip at all, ” Lappi said.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans is now in third place, and M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux is in fourth. Evans is 13.3 seconds behind the leader, and Fourmaux is 18.7 seconds adrift.
Rally Sweden will continue on Friday with four more special stages. The competition concludes on Sunday.
The standings after SS4/18 of Rally Sweden:
1. Takamoto Katsuta Toyota 28:05.6 2. Esapekka Lappi Hyundai +11.4 3. Elfyn Evans Toyota +13.3 4. Adrien Fourmaux Ford +18.7 5. Thierry Neuville Hyundai +40.5 6. Oliver Solberg Skoda +1:09.2 7. Sami Pajari Toyota +1:29.9 8. Georg Linnamäe Toyota +1:30.0 9. Roope Korhonen Toyota +1:36,2.0 10. Mikko Heikkilä Toyota +1:48.0 11. Nikolai Grjazin Citroen +1:48.3 12. Emil Lindholm Hyundai +1:48.8 13. Lauri Joona Skoda +1:57.8
Itinerary (CET):
Thursday, February 15th 09:01 Shakedown: Håkmark (5.42 km) 19:05 SS1: Umeå Sprint 1 (5.16 km) Friday, February 16th 08:58 SS2: #42 Brattby 1 (10.76 km) 09:52 SS3: Norrby 1 (12.36 km) 10:55 SS4: Floda 1 (28.25 km) 13:28 Service (30 min) 14:36 SS5: #42 Brattby 2 (10.76 km) 15:30 SS6: Norrby 2 (12.36 km) 16:33 SS7: Floda 2 (28.25 km) 19:05 SS8: Umeå Sprint 2 (5.16 km) Saturday, February 17th 07:45 SS9: Vännäs 1 (15.65 km) 08:35 SS10: Sarsjöliden 1 (14.23 km) 10:08 SS11: Bygdsiljum 1 (28.06 km) 13:00 Service (30 min) 14:15 SS12: Vännäs 2 (15.65 km) 15:05 SS13: Sarsjöliden 2 (14.23 km) 16:38 SS14: Bygdsiljum 2 (28.06 km) 19:05 SS15: Umeå 1 (10.08 km) Sunday, February 18th 07:27 SS16: Västervik 1 (25.50 km) 09:06 Service (15 min) 10:03 SS17: Västervik 2 (25.50 km) 12:15 SS18: Umeå 2 (10.08 km) *Power Stage
