While for most road users snowy conditions slow the pace down, in the World Rally Championship the pace picks up. Rally Sweden is one of the fastest and most exhilarating stops on rallying’s world tour, and it’s back this week after a two year layoff.
It’s the first loose surface event for the new hybrid Rally1 cars and the first Rally Sweden to be held in the northern city of Umeå – so there’s plenty of new elements for the crews this week.
Here’s everything you need to know about the rally:
Entry breakdown
Total 48 crews
10 Priority 1 crews
23 Priority 2 crews (WRC2)
8 Priority 3 crews (WRC3)
Rally1
The absence of both Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier – who currently occupy the top two places in the championship – are the big changes this weekend compared to the entry for the opening round in Monaco.
Ogier’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 will instead be driven by Esapekka Lappi who returns to Toyota for the first time since 2018. Lappi will compete for most of the season on the rounds Ogier isn’t entering.
M-Sport Ford’s entry has been slimmed to just three Puma Rally1s. Lorenzo Bertelli was originally supposed to join the squad for this event but has had to pull out due to work commitments.
Hyundai will be rotating Oliver Solberg and Dani Sordo in its third i20 N Rally1 but Solberg remains in the car for Sweden – his first chance to compete in his home country in top-line machinery
Despite lying third in the championship, it’ll be Kalle Rovanperä that’s first onto the Swedish stages on Friday.
| Number | Driver | Co-driver | Car |
| 69 | Kalle Rovanperä | Jonne Halttunen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 |
| 42 | Craig Breen | Paul Nagle | Ford Puma Rally1 |
| 11 | Thierry Neuville | Martijn Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 |
| 44 | Gus Greensmith | Jonas Andersson | Ford Puma Rally1 |
| 18 | Takamoto Katsuta | Aaron Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 |
| 33 | Elfyn Evans | Scott Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 |
| 8 | Ott Tänak | Martin Järveoja | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 |
| 16 | Adrien Fourmaux | Renaud Jamoul | Ford Puma Rally1 |
| 4 | Esapekka Lappi | Janne Ferm | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 |
| 2 | Oliver Solberg | Elliott Edmondson | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 |
WRC2
A mammoth 23 cars will compete in WRC2 this weekend; the entry headlined by reigning champion and current series leader Andreas Mikkelsen.
But behind Mikkelsen’s Toksport Škoda in the running order are several drivers making their season debuts.
Jari Huttunen and Mattias Adielsson are entrusted with M-Sport’s two Fiesta Rally2s while former Hyundai junior Ole Christian Veiby makes his first WRC start since being banned for six months for breaching COVID-19 rules.
Emil Lindholm is back out after a strong end of season run in WRC3 last year, Josh McErlean makes his first start in WRC2 after WRC3 podiums in 2021, Georg Linnamäe returns and there’s a first WRC start for Per-Gunnar Andersson in nine years.
| Number | Driver | Co-driver | Car |
| 20 | Andreas Mikkelsen | Torstein Eriksen | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo |
| 21 | Nikolay Gryazin | Konstantin Aleksandrov | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo |
| 22 | Emil Lindholm | Reeta Hämäläinen | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo |
| 23 | Jari Huttunen | Mikko Lukka | Ford Fiesta Rally2 |
| 24 | Ole Christian Veiby | Stig Rune Skjærmoen | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 |
| 25 | Marco Bulacia | Marcelo Der Ohennesian | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo |
| 26 | Mattias Adielsson | David Arhusiander | Ford Fiesta Rally2 |
| 27 | Eerik Pieterinen | Antti Linnaketo | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 |
| 28 | Egon Kaur | Silver Simm | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 |
| 29 | Per-Gunnar Andersson | Anders Fredriksson | Ford Fiesta Rally2 |
| 30 | Jörgen Jonasson | Nicklas Jonasson | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo |
| 31 | Georg Linnamäe | James Morgan | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 |
| 32 | Josh McErlean | James Fulton | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 |
| 34 | Rakan Al-Rashad | Hugo Magalhães | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo |
| 35 | Mauro Miele | Luca Beltrame | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 |
| 36 | Jarosław Kołtun | Ireneusz Pleskot | Ford Fiesta Rally2 |
| 38 | Michał Sołowow | Maciej Baran | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 |
| 39 | Alexander Villaneuva | Rodrigo Sanjuan de Eusebio | Citroën C3 Rally2 |
| 40 | Bruno Bulacia | Marc Martí | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo |
| 43 | Roman Joakim | Jörgen Fornander | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo |
| 45 | Enrico Oldrati | Elia De Guio | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo |
| 46 | Frédéric Rosati | Stéphane Prévot | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 |
| 47 | Eamonn Boland | MJ | Ford Fiesta Rally2 |
WRC3/Junior WRC
The new era of Junior WRC begins in Sweden’s deep freeze – and although several of the characters remain the same the weapon between their fingertips has changed as the Fiesta Rally4 has been replaced by the four-wheel-drive Rally3.
Reigning champion Sami Pajari, 2021 runner-up Jon Armstrong, Lauri Joona, Robert Virves and William Creighton all return from last season but there’s new blood in the shape of Jean-Baptise Franceschi, McRae Kimahti and Roustemis Panagiotis.
Every single WRC3 entrant this week is also competing in Junior WRC.
| Number | Driver | Co-driver | Car |
| 48 | Sami Pajari | Enni Mälkönen | Ford Fiesta Rally3 |
| 49 | Lauri Joona | Mikael Korhonen | Ford Fiesta Rally3 |
| 50 | Jon Armstrong | Brian Hoy | Ford Fiesta Rally3 |
| 51 | Robert Virves | Aleks Lesk | Ford Fiesta Rally3 |
| 52 | William Creighton | Liam Regan | Ford Fiesta Rally3 |
| 53 | Jean-Baptiste Franceschi | Anthony Gorguilo | Ford Fiesta Rally3 |
| 54 | McRae Kimahti | Mwangi Kioni | Ford Fiesta Rally3 |
| 55 | Roustemis Panagiotis | Christos Bakloris | Ford Fiesta Rally3 |
Itinerary
With the 500-mile trip north for this year’s Rally Sweden, the stages are an all-new challenge in the WRC.
Anticipation is for more snowfall than the Karlstad-based Sweden has offered in recent years, but the event organizer has been dealt an early blow with the cancelation of the Örträsk stage – the second longest of the rally – due to moving reindeer.
But despite this setback,17 stages fast and thrilling stages remain on the menu for the very first Rally Sweden in Umeå.
Thursday February 24
Shakedown Klabböle (4.72 miles) 0901
Friday February 25
SS1 Kroksjö 1 (9.30 miles) 0842
SS2 Kamsjön 1 (17.28 miles) 0955
SS3 Sävar 1 (10.74 miles) 1131
SS4 Kroksjö 2 (9.30 miles) 1445
SS5 Kamsjön 2 (17.28 miles) 1558
SS6 Sävar 2 (10.74 miles) 1734
SS7 Umeå Sprint (3.44 miles) 1838
Saturday February 26
SS8 Brattby 1 (6.52 miles) 0857
SS10 Långed 1 (12.11 miles) 1054
SS11 Umeå 1 (6.94 miles) 1208
SS12 Brattby 2 (6.52 miles) 1527
SS14 Långed 2 (12.11 miles) 1724
SS15 Umeå 2 (6.94 miles) 1838
Sunday February 27
SS16 Vindeln 1 (8.82 miles) 0700
SS17 Sarsjöliden 1 (8.84 miles) 0808
SS18 Vindeln 2 (8.82 miles) 0937
SS19 Sarsjöliden 2 (8.84 miles) 1218 [powerstage]
Total competitive distance: 164.54 miles
