The early Rally Sweden leaderboard was turned on its head as both Kalle Rovanperä and Ott Tänak retired on SS4, handing the lead to Rovanperä’s team-mate Takamoto Katsuta.
Rovanperä held a 5.7-second lead going into the 17.5-mile Floda test, having won the day’s opening #42 Brattby test.
But Floda bit and Rovanperä went off the road, ending his day. The world champion hadn’t been happy with his own driving up to that point, despite his pace.
“That driving was horrible – embarrassing, so bad,” he said after SS3, before adding ominously: “I need to do better on the next one.”
Ott Tänak’s chance of repeating his 2023 Rally Sweden win ended on the same stage after a high-speed spin. Tänak had been running third overall and looking strong but lost the car into a snowbank.
He was able to extract his i30 but soon pulled off with the car overheating. Tänak then restarted using electrical power only, before pulling off into retirement.
Katsuta holds an 11.4-second lead over Esapekka Lappi after going fastest on Floda. Katsuta had also found the conditions tough and wasn’t satisfied with his own performance.
“It’s horrible condition,” said Katsuta, before knowing he had assumed the lead. “I had to use snowbanks sometimes because there was quite a messy line. I had to use snowbanks which I don’t want. Not good.”
Lappi looked set to challenge for the lead, benefiting from his position further back on the road, but lost 10.5s to Katsuta on the stage. “We touched a bank quite heavily,” he reported. “It was quite messy – really no grip at all. The time is really bad.”
Importantly though, he was still running.
Elfyn Evans lies third overall, just 1.9s behind Katsuta. Toyota’s world title hopeful had survived his own scary moment on SS3 Norrby. Amid poor visibility in the snowfall, Evans had a full 360-degree spin.
Helped in part by the snowbank ensuring his car fully rotated, Evans dropped only 11.4s to Lappi’s fastest time on the stage. “In a fast place just completely lost the rear,” he explained. “Luckily did a 360 and carried on. Bit lucky.”
Adrien Fourmaux’s M-Sport Ford Puma holds fifth position, 5.4s down on Evans. Fourmaux was lucky to avoid Tänak’s stricken car, catching him just after a fast corner. “It was a really close call,” he admitted.
Opening the road proved predictably hard work for Monte Carlo Rally winner Thierry Neuville, sweeping the road. Problems with his wipers in the snowfall exacerbated the issue. He lies in fifth position, more than 40s off Katsuta’s pace.
The second M-Sport Puma of Gregoire Munster was another to hit trouble on SS4. A puncture early in the stage forced him to stop and his time-loss was compounded by having to manually work the wheelnuts after his wheelgun failed.
Munster dropped several minutes and now lies nearly five-and-a-half minutes off the pace.
WRC2 leader Oliver Solberg therefore completes the top six. The Škoda driver has been in commanding form, setting the fastest time on every stage despite feeling frustrated with his own driving in the tricky conditions.
