Lappi confidently completed both runs of the Västervik stage, heading into the final sprint of just over ten kilometres with a lead of more than half a minute ahead of Toyota’s Elfyn Evans.
“Quite OK – I think it was fairly OK conditons for the second pass. I would say it’s the best stage of the rally, defintiely. I was a bit faster than in the morning – I had nicer rhythm. Still not the way I would like to drive. So far it’s been in our control so I’m not too stressed about it,”Lappi summarised.
Evans trails Lappi by 34 seconds, allowing the Finn to approach the final special stage with ease. Adrien Fourmaux of M-Sport Ford, in third, is on the hunt for his first podium finish in the top class.
Kalle Rovanperä, who had to retire on Friday, dominated the first run in Västervik but eased off on his second run to let Evans overtake him in time for Sunday. Going into the last stage, Evans holds a four-second lead over Sunday’s times. The top driver on Sunday earns seven WRC points, with additional points available from the Power Stage for the top five.
“It was OK – more gravel than I was expecting. I should have been about ten seconds slower and I may have used too much tires – let’s see,” Rovanperä commented.
Evans expressed his gratitude to his Finnish teammate.
“We had a bit of a chat during the break, and Kalle is more focused on the Power Stage. Thanks to Kalle for that,” Evans reported.
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville continues in fourth place. Oliver Solberg, leading the WRC2 class, is fifth overall ahead of Sami Pajari and Georg Linnamäe. Pajari is second in the class, 4.8 seconds ahead of the Estonian.
The final challenge of Rally Sweden is the concluding Power Stage special stage.
Standings after SS17/18 of Rally Sweden:
1. Esapekka Lappi Hyundai 2:27:26.6 2. Elfyn Evans Toyota +34.0 3. Adrien Fourmaux Ford +48.1 4. Thierry Neuville Hyundai +1:50.6 5. Oliver Solberg Skoda +4:51.2 6. Sami Pajari Toyota +6:03.8 7. Georg Linnamäe Toyota +6:08.6 8. Roope Korhonen Toyota +6:29.9 9. Mikko Heikkilä Toyota +7:06.3 10. Lorenzo Bertelli Toyota +7:27.4 11. Lauri Joona Skoda +7:41.4
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
