Hyundai driver Lappi excelled on the Norrby special stage, clocking the fastest time, a margin of 1.2 seconds ahead of Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä.
“Clean stage, maybe on some braking points I was too early,” Lappi said.
Lappi continues in fourth place overall, but he is just 6.6 seconds behind the rally-leading Rovanperä. Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta is in second place, and Hyundai’s Ott Tänak is in third.
Rovanperä was not satisfied with his performance in Norrby.
“That driving was horrible, embarrasing. I don’t know, I was just s***. I need to do better on the next one,” Rovanperä cursed.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans and Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville have already fallen significantly behind the leading quartet. Evans spun in Norrby but quickly resumed. Neuville, on the other hand, encountered a nasty problem on the third special stage.
“It’s a nightmare. My wipers are full of s*** so I can’t even see at the end of a straight line. The grip is zero. I was driving blind most of the time. I tried to get through somehow,” Neuville lamented.
As expected, Oliver Solberg holds the top spot in the WRC2 class. Sami Pajari is in second place, 10.9 seconds behind the Swede.
Rally Sweden will continue on Friday with five more special stages. The competition concludes on Sunday.
The standings after SS3/18 of Rally Sweden:
1. Kalle Rovanperä Toyota 15:19.3 2. Takamoto Katsuta Toyota +5.7 3. Ott Tänak Hyundai +6.2 4. Esapekka Lappi Hyundai +6.6 5. Elfyn Evans Toyota +18.3 6. Adrien Fourmaux Ford +21.2 7. Thierry Neuville Hyundai +25.8 8. Gregoire Munster Ford +44.3 9. Oliver Solberg Skoda +47.8 10. Sami Pajari Toyota +58.7
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
