French drivers dominate in Sweden where Sébastien Ogier has pulled out
an early advantage in his Volkswagen over Citroën rival Sébastien Loeb.
Hirvonen has fallen out of contention after losing more than
half-an-hour following a roll on SS2. Ostberg’s run is being spoiled by
niggling problems with his Ford.
Les Français dominent ce début de Rallye de Suède avec Sébastien Ogier
(Volkswagen Polo R WRC) et Sébastien Loeb (Citroën DS3 WRC). Hirvonen a
déjà perdu plus d’une demi-heure (tonneau ES2) et Mads Ostberg
rencontre des ennuis techniques sur sa Ford.
The final portion of ‘Varmullasen’ (SS3, 23.77km) criss-crosses a ski
slope, a spectator zone known as ‘Hagfors Arena’ which is famous for
its spectacular leap, although the drivers tend to be cautious over this
sort of artificial obstacle.
The last time we were here, the finish line was nearer to the jump. It has now been moved further down the hill, however, after a competitor wiped out the timing cell in 2011! As a result, the new Stop Control location means we can watch the last right-hand hairpin before the cars brake hard to come to a halt at our feet.
The clear blue skies we were promised have failed to materialise but the cloud cover means it is warmer than expected, a mild minus 6°C! Meanwhile, it is still snowing heavily to add to the top-coating of fresh powder that is making life difficult for many drivers. They include the morning’s chief victim Mikko Hirvonen, who rolled his Citroën DS3 on SS2, losing 33m20s! His car shows no signs of damage and he is continuing, but his dreams of victory are over…
Finland’s Jarkko Nikara (Mini) has lost a big chunk of time, too, after crashing at the beginning of ‘Varmullasen’. “He is stuck in a snow bank; it can’t have been easy for him being first on the road,” reported fellow Mini driver Kosciuszko. “As soon as I passed him, I could feel the difference.”
The established stars agreed that the conditions were difficult, but you sensed they were more focused on their personal battles… and problems. Volkswagen/Michelin’s Sébastien Ogier posted the best time on SS3 to extend his lead after winning SS2 (Lesjofors), yet he still complained of a small issue with his gearbox.
Just three seconds slower on SS3 was Mads Ostberg who was clearly angry with the world. He had dropped a little time with a problem on ‘Lesjofors’ and was three minutes late at the start of SS3 after stopping to add fluid to his Fiesta’s engine. Then, on ‘Varmullasen’, a piece of rollcage protection came off and got stuck in his pedals. “There’s always something,” he complained. He is currently sixth overall, 40s behind Ogier.
French drivers dominate at the moment, since former Rally Sweden winner Loeb is second, 6.2s adrift. The two Sébastiens are joined on the provisional podium by Jari-Matti Latvala (Volkswagen) who admitted to not feeling entirely confident with the rear handing of his Polo. The promising Swedish star Pontus Tidemund is fourth.
L’arrivée de Varmullasen (ES3, 23,77 km) coupe une piste de ski alpin
qui descend jusqu’aux portes d’Hagfors. La zone, baptisée « Hagfors
Arena », est connue pour son « jump » spectaculaire, le genre de rampe
artificielle sur laquelle les pilotes ont plus à perdre qu’à gagner…The last time we were here, the finish line was nearer to the jump. It has now been moved further down the hill, however, after a competitor wiped out the timing cell in 2011! As a result, the new Stop Control location means we can watch the last right-hand hairpin before the cars brake hard to come to a halt at our feet.
The clear blue skies we were promised have failed to materialise but the cloud cover means it is warmer than expected, a mild minus 6°C! Meanwhile, it is still snowing heavily to add to the top-coating of fresh powder that is making life difficult for many drivers. They include the morning’s chief victim Mikko Hirvonen, who rolled his Citroën DS3 on SS2, losing 33m20s! His car shows no signs of damage and he is continuing, but his dreams of victory are over…
Finland’s Jarkko Nikara (Mini) has lost a big chunk of time, too, after crashing at the beginning of ‘Varmullasen’. “He is stuck in a snow bank; it can’t have been easy for him being first on the road,” reported fellow Mini driver Kosciuszko. “As soon as I passed him, I could feel the difference.”
The established stars agreed that the conditions were difficult, but you sensed they were more focused on their personal battles… and problems. Volkswagen/Michelin’s Sébastien Ogier posted the best time on SS3 to extend his lead after winning SS2 (Lesjofors), yet he still complained of a small issue with his gearbox.
Just three seconds slower on SS3 was Mads Ostberg who was clearly angry with the world. He had dropped a little time with a problem on ‘Lesjofors’ and was three minutes late at the start of SS3 after stopping to add fluid to his Fiesta’s engine. Then, on ‘Varmullasen’, a piece of rollcage protection came off and got stuck in his pedals. “There’s always something,” he complained. He is currently sixth overall, 40s behind Ogier.
French drivers dominate at the moment, since former Rally Sweden winner Loeb is second, 6.2s adrift. The two Sébastiens are joined on the provisional podium by Jari-Matti Latvala (Volkswagen) who admitted to not feeling entirely confident with the rear handing of his Polo. The promising Swedish star Pontus Tidemund is fourth.
Il y a deux ans, la ligne d’arrivée était encore plus près du « jump ». Elle est aujourd’hui quelques mètres en contrebas car en 2011, un compétiteur avait arraché la cellule de chronométrage ! Du nouveau point-stop, on peut voir la dernière épingle droite de cette longue spéciale.
Le ciel bleu annoncé n’est pas au rendez-vous. Il neige à gros flocons et les températures ne dépassent pas les -6°C. Ce début de rallye est riche en rebondissements. Mikko Hirvonen est parti en tonneau dans Lesjofors (ES2) et a perdu 33min20s ! Sa Citroën n’en porte aucune trace : le Finlandais poursuit sa route mais ses rêves d’une 3e victoire à Karlstad sont ensevelis dans la poudreuse.
Un autre Finlandais, Jarkko Nikara (Mini), a lui aussi perdu de longues minutes après une sortie de route au début de l’ES3 : « Il est planté dans un mur de neige, ça ne doit pas être facile pour lui d’être premier sur la route », expliquait Kosciuszko à l’arrivée. « J’ai senti la différence après l’avoir passé, dès que je me suis retrouvé à mon tour premier sur la route. »
Parti 17e ce matin, Sébastien Ogier a remporté les ES2 et 3 malgré quelques petits soucis de boîte de vitesses. Mads Ostberg en voulait au monde entier : il a pointé trois minutes en retard au départ de l’ES3 afin d’ajouter du liquide de refroidissement dans le moteur de sa Ford. Puis, dans Varmullasen, une protection de l’arceau est venue se coincer sous la pédale de frein ! « Il y a toujours quelque chose… » Déçu, le Norvégien est actuellement 6e à 40 secondes d’Ogier.
Les pilotes français dominent ce début de rallye avec Loeb pointé à 6s2 de son compatriote. Jari-Matti Latvala complète le podium provisoire malgré un manque de confiance sur sa Polo R WRC. Le jeune espoir suédois, Pontus Tidemand, est 4e.
with best-of-rallylive
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