For things to be this tight heading into the second full day is not unusual for Rally Sweden.
But the first leg of action delivered plenty of intrigue, with three different drivers taking turns in the lead – and that lead changing hands after all four of the afternoon’s tests.
At the end of it all, Elfyn Evans leads his Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta by just 0.6 seconds, with five cars all split by a mere 9.1s.
Tire challenge critical
Standing on the road section, a few miles from the start of SS2 Bygdsiljum felt like a Monte Carlo Rally. Apprehension over tires was palpable.
But instead of choice, it was management at the forefront of minds. Nobody knew how the Hankooks would perform having had limited running on them (as per the testing regulations) prior to the rally.
Kalle Rovanperä predicted he would struggle with his driving style still not in-tune with the new rubber, but in the end was “struggling even more than I was expecting” as he also confessed to going in the wrong setup direction. A change for the afternoon improved his pace, but Rovanperä is unusually cut adrift of the mega fight at the front in sixth.
Fellow Finn Sami Pajari ran into trouble on the first forest stage too, when he ran wide and hit a snowbank which pushed his tire off the rim.
“I felt like I wasn’t pushing too much and felt really clean most of the places, and then once we hit the snowbank somehow the rear tire came off the rim,” Pajari told DirtFish.
“So for me what felt like a very normal hit to the snowbank, like what happens in snow rallies, so it didn’t feel so strange. So it was a bit strange feeling that I was not sure what’s going on so I didn’t expect something like this. But OK, it happens and now we just need to keep pushing.”
In general, feedback was the tires were working well on the ice, but there’s room for improvement in snowy conditions.
Adapting to the tires has been a huge part of Friday
“We know that on the snow they are not working,” Ott Tänak surmised. “On the ice, they are not bad, they work quite fine. It’s just the window is quite small, but it’s something we need to adapt and get better.”
Saturday is predicted to be kinder to the tires with a stronger ice base, although overnight flurries of snow may skew that forecast slightly.
Evans continues his strong form
Evans is the WRC’s form man at the moment, and once again he shone with a beautifully composed drive that had him leading for the majority of the day.
“I think in fairness the condition has sort of helped us with that,” Evans told DirtFish.
“I mean looking into the weekend we knew that at least the penalty should be less than what we’ve seen in previous years. Obviously we ended up first on the road for a lot of it last year and it was a complete disaster, like 30 seconds a stage or something.
“So compared to the potential that it can turn into a proper mess if there’s a lot of snow, I think we have to count ourselves lucky with the conditions, but we’ve managed to find our way through it OK, obviously.”
Evans is looking relaxed and confident aboard his Toyota
Katsuta, along with Tänak, is one of those who led the rally throughout Friday.
“Of course it’s very nice to be in the fight,” Katsuta told DirtFish. “It’s very, very close in the top five, so I cannot believe it of course at the moment.
“But yeah there’s a long way to go, of course, and conditions are quite stable hopefully – tomorrow’s stages are even nicer than today. So yeah, I probably need to push at some point, but so far I didn’t do anything crazy, so I feel very comfortable, everything’s working well.
“Maybe I could do something better for the tire changes and things, but otherwise all good.”
Katsuta estimated he was driving at “80-90%” which gives obvious encouragement, but he’s aware driving harder comes with its risks.
“Difficult thing is this tire and the feeling,” he said. “If you start pushing a lot, then you gain, of course, but you lose also at some points. So I don’t know. At least I didn’t push so crazy today.”
I thought before the rally that Elfyn will suffer, that he's not really able to fight for the victory. But I was wrongJari-Matti Latvala
His boss Jari-Matti Latvala “anticipated” that Katsuta would be fast in Sweden, but hasn’t forgotten about his trip into a snowbank from a similar position 12 months ago.
“I think I will remind something for Taka, because we are in a situation with him that last year he was fighting for the victory and we ended up in the snowbank,” Latvala told DirtFish.
“So this year I would like to see the fight going until the final day, so maybe I will say something to him.”
As for Evans?
“I thought before the rally that Elfyn will suffer, that he’s not really able to fight for the victory. But I was wrong and he has done an amazing job.
“And I was actually out there watching and I can see that, like a second pass in the stages, which was not that easy a place to be, but the way he was driving with the confidence level, I’m really impressed about that.
“He’s comfortable,” Latvala added. “But also at the same time, I must say – I said it before the rally, I said I feel Elfyn is a bit more relaxed because I could see him, in Monte, I have seen it here, in the mornings, his body language, he’s different than in the ‘24 season.”
What about the Hyundais?
Toyota holds a 1-2, but all three of Hyundai's drivers are in the lead fight
Elsewhere there were impressive drives from Adrien Fourmaux, who is within that close top-five (+7.9s) along with Thierry Neuville (+9.1s).
“It’s my fifth rally on snow, so I don’t have a lot of experience on it,” Fourmaux told DirtFish.
“But probably I had some good training during the winter, driving old-school cars on snow in France,” he laughed, “but I don’t know. Anyway, I was pleased with my pace and it’s positive. Tomorrow, everything can be possible, so we’re going to go for it.”
Neuville was a bit less bullish.
“Risks? I don’t want to take a risk, no,” he offered. “I want to have a clean run. Probably trust myself and follow the feeling.”
Tänak was left a bit frustrated after feeling he managed his tires too much in the first part of the afternoon, but he’s the highest placed i20 in third – just 2.5s off the summit.
One thing is for sure, this fight isn’t going to die down on Saturday. But who’s prepared to put it all on the line and take a decisive step towards victory on Sunday?
“The top five, we are all in a similar starting position now, so more equal,” Katsuta pointed out.
“Very, very looking forward.”
You’re not alone, Taka-san.
