Rally Sweden stands alone in the World Rally Championship. We get one round on snow each year – a unique circumstances that can lead to unusual outcomes.
You never know what can happen in Sweden. Timo Salonen besting the otherwise dominant Lancias aboard a Mazda 323 in 1987 is a case in point. Tommi Mäkinen ploughing into a snowbank on the final stage in 2001, leaving Harri Rovanperä clear to wrap up his one and only WRC win, another.
We’ve been digging in the Girardo & Co. archives to find some of the best photos of years past. Here’s a snapshot of Sweden at its very best down the years.
Markko Märtin was cutting it very fine on the 2003 edition – but risk delivered reward, scoring fourth place on the 2002 Focus’s penultimate outing before upgrading to the 2003-spec car.
Sweden presents unique challenges to its WRC competitors – even the sock strategy needs adapted for the conditions, as Petter Solberg demonstrates.
Juuso Pykalisto rolled his privateer Peugeot 206 out of fifth place on the 2003 edition. Spectators were unable to move his car in time and Harri Rovanperä arrived on the scene, crashing straight into the stranded 206.
Stig Blomqvist is Rally Sweden’s most successful driver – but even he couldn’t get defeat Hannu Mikkola’s Quattro A1 - the car’s first WRC win - while driving a less powerful 80 Quattro
One of the rarest sights in rally history: a Citroën BX4TC in active competition. Jean-Claude Andruet’s sixth place in Sweden ’86 was the only time the overweight, underpowered French wedge finished a WRC event.
Per Eklund’s liveries always stood out on the Swedish Rally – but none more so than bold yellow on a Group A car.
Sweden and oddities seem to go together. Ingvar Carlsson and Benny Melander brought one of Group B’s most unusual machines to eight place in 1985: the Mazda RX7.
Another Swedish one-off: 1994 world champion Didier Auriol needed a seat for ’96, after Toyota were kicked out of the championship for an illegal turbo wastegate. He donned Subaru yellow and blue only once, Sweden in 1996.
Sweden 1986 was the beginning of something special. Juha Kankkunen scored his first victory as a Peugeot driver, establishing himself as a clear title contender. After some post-season wrangling over the legitimacy of the results in Sanremo that year, the crown would be his.
Continuing the theme of lesser-known WRC machines excelling on Swedish snow, Blomqvist scored the Nissan Sunny GTI-R’s only podium finish on the ’92 edition.
Markko Märtin was cutting it very fine on the 2003 edition – but risk delivered reward, scoring fourth place on the 2002 Focus’s penultimate outing before upgrading to the 2003-spec car.
Sweden presents unique challenges to its WRC competitors – even the sock strategy needs adapted for the conditions, as Petter Solberg demonstrates.
Juuso Pykalisto rolled his privateer Peugeot 206 out of fifth place on the 2003 edition. Spectators were unable to move his car in time and Harri Rovanperä arrived on the scene, crashing straight into the stranded 206.
Stig Blomqvist is Rally Sweden’s most successful driver – but even he couldn’t get defeat Hannu Mikkola’s Quattro A1 - the car’s first WRC win - while driving a less powerful 80 Quattro
One of the rarest sights in rally history: a Citroën BX4TC in active competition. Jean-Claude Andruet’s sixth place in Sweden ’86 was the only time the overweight, underpowered French wedge finished a WRC event.
Per Eklund’s liveries always stood out on the Swedish Rally – but none more so than bold yellow on a Group A car.
Sweden and oddities seem to go together. Ingvar Carlsson and Benny Melander brought one of Group B’s most unusual machines to eight place in 1985: the Mazda RX7.
Another Swedish one-off: 1994 world champion Didier Auriol needed a seat for ’96, after Toyota were kicked out of the championship for an illegal turbo wastegate. He donned Subaru yellow and blue only once, Sweden in 1996.
Sweden 1986 was the beginning of something special. Juha Kankkunen scored his first victory as a Peugeot driver, establishing himself as a clear title contender. After some post-season wrangling over the legitimacy of the results in Sanremo that year, the crown would be his.
Continuing the theme of lesser-known WRC machines excelling on Swedish snow, Blomqvist scored the Nissan Sunny GTI-R’s only podium finish on the ’92 edition.
Markko Märtin was cutting it very fine on the 2003 edition – but risk delivered reward, scoring fourth place on the 2002 Focus’s penultimate outing before upgrading to the 2003-spec car.
Sweden presents unique challenges to its WRC competitors – even the sock strategy needs adapted for the conditions, as Petter Solberg demonstrates.
