Five drivers took turns at the top of the seven special routes of the first stage of the WRC race in Scandinavia, with just 10 seconds separating the first and sixth for most of the day.

In the first loop of three specialists, soft snow awaited them on the thick ice base. That fact made Rovanpera’s morning performance even more impressive as the 20-year-old arrived at the meridional duty at the head of general duty despite the first start and deceptive snow.

Also in the morning, Hyundai managed to reverse its performance compared to the i20 N Rally1’s disastrous debut at Monte Carlo by winning the opening special with Ott Tanak and starring throughout the day.

After Eston’s win in the first qualifying round, the next day was won by Esapeka Lapi – the Finn who returned to Toyota this year after 2018 to lead the third Yaris Rally1 in races Sebastian Ozier did not compete for most of the year.

Lapi therefore won the ED2 and became the leader in the standings, but the next a stint on his engine cost him a few but crucial seconds and dropped him to 6th place – while Rovanpera scored in the first year to reach the race in charge Service.

At the same time, not everything went perfectly for Hyundai drivers. Tanak was concerned with the balance of the i20 N Rally1, particularly when he lifted a bumper while Neville had two technical issues. One he did himself in the simple before the 3rd ED and a problem with the battery of the hybrid system.

The Belgian would have lost a lot of time on lap 2 if the red flags hadn’t come out allowing him to slow down to the finish. The special was stopped because of Craig Brin. The driver of the M-Sport Ford opened in a high-speed corner, drove along the snow wall and finally landed between the road and the forest in the snow of the Puma Rally1.

Brin and Paul Neil’s passenger was not injured, but organizers stopped the special to move the car away from the dangerous spot. This helped Neville, who didn’t have to finish at full speed with poor battery performance. The Belgian returned to his normal rhythm in the next special stage, finishing 0.7” behind Rovanpera and by then holding 4th place in the lap standings.

The afternoon loop in the same specials started with Elfin Evans’ first year in ED4, with a big difference (16.3”) from Rovanpera. The young Finn lost a lot of time this time due to the deep grooves in the snow caused by the cars driving through in the morning. The Welshman retained the lead in the next ED5, but this time – after improving service – Tanak scored his first year (despite losing hybrid power in the final 10km) and closed on Evans in just 1.1s.

However, things did not go well for the Estonian, because at the very next test the problem in the electronics of the i20 N Rally1 forced him to give up and once again lost hope of a possible victory.

The 6th and final regular ED of the day was won by Neville as the sun ate away at the snowy landscape, closing 6 tenths of a second on Evans who remained in command. However, it all went awry for Wales at the final test of the day, the small supercar in the town of Umeα, where his tires overheated and he lost 7.9” from Neville and with it the lead of the General from Belgium.

The morning lap also featured Oliver Solberg in the third works Hyundai, setting times in the top three, but in the afternoon his pace dropped and he lost about 15 seconds to a gamble with the tires not working. The Swede sits 5th, almost half a minute behind Neville.

Following Brin’s accident, the day also did not go well for Gus Greensmith who had several problems with the hybrid system and then the Puma Rally1 gearbox. Adrien Formo is moving very cautiously after the Monte Carlo crash and is 7th and 12” behind Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta – although the Japanese lost 39 seconds getting stuck in the snow before spectators helped him to continue.

The second stage of the Rally Sweden on Saturday (February 26) includes six special routes, i.e. two laps with three repetitions. The match ends on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. after four more specials.

SWEDISH RALLY 2022 – DAY 1

1. Neville (Hyundai) 1: 02/31/2

2. Rovanpera (Toyota) +4.3

3. Evans (Toyota) +7.4

4. Lapi (Toyota) +8.8

5. Solberg (Hyundai) +28.1

6.Toyota +1, 18.9

7th route (Ford M-Sport) +1: 32.9

8. Greensmith (Ford M-Sport) +1: 48.1