Umeå is the place to be this week as the World Rally Championship speeds into Sweden for the second round of the 2023 season.
Touching down in Umeå is still something of a novelty as Rally Sweden’s new northern home plays host to the event for just the second time, and there are some small tweaks to the route.
Although it’s Sébastien Ogier’s name that tops the standings after round one, just as last year it’s Kalle Rovanperä who starts this weekend as road sweeper, closely followed by Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans.
But it isn’t just the Rally1 cars that are bringing the party atmosphere – the scrap for WRC2 honors is arguably set to be even more thrilling than in Monte Carlo and Junior WRC begins its five-round season too.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Rally Sweden 2023:
Entry breakdown
Total 52 crews
9 Priority 1 crews
26 Priority 2 crews (25 WRC2)
13 Priority 3 crews (10 WRC3 / 9 JWRC)
Rally1
No Rally1 team heads to Sweden with the same lineup of drivers that it left Monte Carlo with.
M-Sport hasn’t brought in anybody new, but it will field just two Puma Rally1s for Ott Tänak and Pierre-Louis Loubet. Jourdan Serderidis drove a third example three weeks ago but hasn’t made the trip up north.
At Hyundai, full-time entrants Neuville and Esapekka Lappi of course feature but Craig Breen displaces Dani Sordo in the third i20 N Rally1 for his first Hyundai start since returning to the team after a year at M-Sport Ford.
The biggest changes are perhaps at Toyota though.
Reigning world champion Rovanperä and Evans remain in GR Yaris Rally1s, and there’s nothing unusual in Takamoto Katsuta lining up in one either. But the ‘M’ next to his name on the entry list is key as he’ll be contributing towards Toyota’s manufacturers’ championship effort for the very first time in Sébastien Ogier’s absence.
There’ll still be four Yarises in Sweden though as long-time M-Sport customer Lorenzo Bertelli tries a Toyota for size this week.
WRC2
The Monte Carlo entry was good, but the Sweden entry is sensational in WRC2.
Oliver Solberg appeared on the Monte but his championship camapign begins this week (on home soil no less). He’s one of four Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 drivers that must be considered a contender for victory.
After his impressive exploits last month, Nikolay Gryazin is one of them, but it’s the two Finns – Sami Pajari and reigning WRC2 champion Emil Lindholm – who stand out as Solberg’s biggest threats.
Like Solberg, Pajari was supposed to contest the Monte for extra (non-points scoring) seat time but food poisoning ruled him out. Lindholm hasn’t competed so far this year either, but was one of four test and development drivers for the new Fabia so knows his steed well.
There’s no guarantee it’ll be a Škoda walkover though. Ole Christian Veiby was extremely quick in a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 12 months ago and makes his first WRC start since in the same car but with a new co-driver, borrowing Andreas Mikkelsen’s navgiator Torstein Eriksen.
Hyundai’s Teemu Suninen – a former rally leader in Sweden back in 2019 – is another sure-fire contender, as is fellow Finn Jari Huttunen who’ll drive an older spec Škoda Fabia R5.
Other drivers to watch include WRC3 champion Lauri Joona whose Finnish program in a Fabia Rally2 evo has brought him to Sweden, and Junior WRC champion Robert Virves who drives the rally’s sole Ford Fiesta Rally2.
WRC3/Junior WRC
There might be just one Fiesta Rally2, but there’s a swarm of Rally3 Fords on the entry as a new Junior WRC season bursts into life.
William Creighton tops the entry as the most experienced competitor, swiftly followed by Grégoire Munster, Junior ERC champion Laurent Pellier and Diego Dominguez Jr.
Munster’s entry is intriguing as he bids to improve his experience and knowledge of WRC events, stepping down from the Rally2 Fiesta he drove on the Monte Carlo Rally.
Eamonn Kelly, Raúl Hernández Hernández, Tom Rensonnet, Roberto Blach Núñez and Hamza Anwar all make their championship debuts.
Most (but not all) JWRC competitors have also registered for WRC3. Drivers contesting WRC3 but not JWRC include top RC3 seed Roope Korhonen and Finnish compatriot Toni Herranen.
Itinerary
This year’s Rally Sweden will be fought out over 18 stages and 187 competitive miles, starting with the Umeå Sprint superspecial on Thursday evening.
Friday comprises seven stages; a three-stage loop repeated with Umeå Sprint run once more as the final stage of the leg.
And one of the stages is new. Brattby ran last year on the Saturday and Sarsjöliden moves from Sunday to Friday, but the Botsmark test is a new addition for 2023.
Saturday’s the longest day of the rally at 78.5 miles and features two brand-new stages: Norrby and Floda. These two kick off the loop before the Sävar test (a Friday stage in 2022) while, unusually, the first run of Umeå which will be the powerstage on Sunday features as Saturday’s final test.
Sunday offers just three stages – two passes of another new stage, Västervik, either side of a 15-minute flexi service, with Umeå then bringing the curtain down on the contest at Sunday lunchtime.
