Jari-Matti Latvala won Rally Sweden, second round from the 2017 World Rally Championship. The Finn inherited the lead from Thierry Neuville on Saturday night after the Belgian crashed. He managed to keep his lead through the last three stages on Sunday and triumphed in his second race with Toyota. That was 44th WRC win for the Japanese brand, which equaled Volkswagen’s achievement in the championship. The last one (before today’s success) was Rally China in 1999 with Didier Oriol. The last time Toyota won Rally Sweden was in 1993 with Mats Jonsson.
“I’m speechless”, was the Finn’s first reaction after the final.
A bit earlier he explained his approach for the last couple of stages: “Last night I had a good chat with [team principal] Tommi Makinen. He told me to go out there and focus on the driving. To forget about the set-up, just go and drive.”
Latvala was also fastest in the powerstage, followed by Sebastien Ogier (M-Sport) and Neuville.
“I’m speechless”, was the first reaction of Jari-Matti Latvala
The #RallySweden 2017 podium ?????? pic.twitter.com/KshBCFSHvm
— Rally Sweden (@RallySweden) 12 February 2017
One happy man pic.twitter.com/E2ta2WmCBJ
— Rally Sweden (@RallySweden) 12 February 2017
Ott Tanak finished second in Sweden, followed by his teammate Sebastien Ogier.
“We were not competitive enough today. I was driving as fast as I can but it was not working. I think generally it was a good weekend. On Friday we were really fast”, the Estonian said.
Ogier commented he was happy with the performance: “Happy to be on the podium, really great! We had a tough rally but these are good points for the championship. That’s what matters the most.”
Thierry Neuville had only one aim for the last day of Rally Sweden after yesterday’s disappointment: to win the powerstage. He was saving tyres all the way for that. At the end the Hyundai driver effort was not enough and he was third in the distance.
“I tried. Again really disappointed for the team but our approach was good”, he concluded philosophically.
Mads Ostberg was in trouble in the last stage: “We hit something in high speed and had to slow down. Hasn’t been our weekend but still really been enjoying this rally.”
Pontus Tidemand (Skoda Fabia R5) won the WRC2 category.
“It’s fantastic, it means so much for me and everyone in the team. Definitely the highlight of my career!”, the 26-year old Swedish driver commented.
Rally Sweden official classification
#WRC Drivers’ Standings
Latvala 48
Ogier 44
Tanak 33
? Sordo 25
Breen 20
Evans 18
Lefebvre 10
? Neuville 8
? Paddon 7— Hyundai Motorsport (@HMSGOfficial) 12 February 2017
#WRC Manufacturers’ Standings
M-Sport World Rally Team 73
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC 53
? Hyundai Motorsport40
Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT 26— Hyundai Motorsport (@HMSGOfficial) 12 February 2017
