So who's going to take the spoils? Ogier? Loeb? Or can the any of the Finish contingent take the race.
Let's find out.
Day one started with the qualifying stage. To decide the running order for the start of day two. So it was to be that Sebastian Ogier took the spoils earning him his choice of starting position for stage two. Ogier decided to start as far down the field as he could, leaving the others to clean the roads for him. One of these unlucky people was Sebastian Loeb, who finished eighth in the qualifying stage and had to start back in tenth.
Stage two is a challenging slippery stage with a lot of grip needed to get through it. Loeb had a bumpy time of it, using the snow banks to bounce himself round the corners, he managed to not sustain any damage whilst doing this. Mikko Hirvonen was extremely wild on the stage, pushing the car to the limit. This didn't pay off for him when he hit a snow bank and launched into a barrel roll. Luckily both driver and co-driver were okay. But the time they lost wasn't okay. Crashing in a place with no spectators, this left few people to help dig the troubled Citroen out of the snow and a crushing 25 minutes were lost along with Hirvonen's chance of winning. Mads Ostberg also had a bit of trouble on stage two, his though were relatively minor compared to Hirvonen's. Just a small amount of trouble with the engine overheating. Though this was fixed at service later on. Ogier was the winner of stage two.
Stage three showed a poor progression for both the mini drivers who had huge problems with both car and conditions. Loeb meanwhile was chomping at the bit and was staying steady in second place.
Stage four at Vargassen is always a treat for the spectators due to Colin's crest named after the late, great Colin McRae which provided some great car jumps and thrills of speed for the drivers. Though Loeb and Jari-Matti Latvala didn't want to impress the spectators and chose to play it safe on their runs. Dabbing the breaks to make sure they got a smooth landing. Latvala later said that he was enjoying himself and gaining more confidence with the car. Ogier was building up his lead over Loeb in a stage where he struggled with gear shift problems. The stage however belonged to Ostberg who after gaining a twenty second penalty for his late stage arrival, managed to risk it all and win the stage outright.
Stage five brought trouble to Dani Sordo, who being notorious for his poor show on snow and ice didn't help himself by crashing into a snow bank losing four minutes in the process.
Stage six and seven proved to be a joy for Pontius Tidemand who with his local knowledge had managed to end day one of the rally in sixth place. Latvala however had a stage to forget when communication with his co-driver failed and had to drive blind for most of the stage. To say Latvala was fuming would be an understatement.
Stage eight ended the rally with a short stage that saw Loeb eat a little into Ogier's time cushion.
End of day two results.
1. Ogier 1:16:00:1
2. Loeb + 31.4
3. Latvala +33.1
4. Ostberg +42.3
5. Novikov + 1:11.1
6. Tidemand +1:22.1
Day three started with a busy day. Eight stages in all would be raced today on some fast terrain. Stage nine was the fastest of them all, Sagen. With the cars reaching an average speed of 115km on this stage. Sadly Tidemand wasn't going anywhere fast when he had to retire with engine problems halfway through after a fantastic day two. Latvala and Ostberg were having their own mini battle for the last place on the podium. This meant that Loeb could concentrate on maintaining 2nd place. Ogier comfortably took the stage nine win.
Stage ten was the most challenging of the day with huge jumps and a bumpy road surface. Ogier lost some of his momentum whilst trying to keep his time cushion and ended up losing 5 seconds to Loeb, luckily for Ogier that Loeb was also struggling and was 0.2 slower then Ogier. Latvala though had an epic run through stage ten winning overall and talking about how he was finally learning how the car leans and how he is getting it to work for him.
Stage eleven and twelve showed Novikov pulling in some great performances and maintaining a great pace halfway through the rally. Loeb finally claimed his first stage win of the rally in stage eleven but didn't make much of a dent in Ogier's time.
Stage thirteen was a rerun of Sagen, but this time with no fresh snow this meant that the rerun would be more difficult. Novikov was putting pedal to the metal and keeping up his strong run from the morning. Latvala was worried about Ostberg being quicker then him, but ended up managing to just edge him out. Loeb started to stray a little on stage thirteen and become slightly wild, but in a strange bit of coincidence managed to post the same time as Ogier.
Stage fourteen and fifteen and the battle for third place rages on. With Latvala this time being the loser. 3.1 seconds behind Ostberg and this included Ostberg having a high speed wobble near the beginning of the stage. This means with Latvala and Ostberg focusing again on each other, this left Loeb to enjoy the spoils of second place and following Ostberg's example also managed to have a high speed wobble. Ogier has a faultless performance in the stage and grabs both forest stage wins.
Standings at the end of day three.
1. Ogier 2:18:22.8
2. Loeb +26.9
3. Ostberg +57.7
4. Latvala +1:03.8
5. Novikov +1:43.5
The last day of Rally Sweden consisted of six stages including the power stage, so there would be plenty of points up for grabs. Stage seventeen had a huge covering of deep snow. Latvala had free reign from VW to fight for the last podium position from Ostberg. Ostberg now under pressure managed to deliver and just hold on to third place. On Loeb's run the snow started to fall but Loeb is a master, even with the tricky conditions and manages to gain 3 seconds on Ogier. Taking the win on stage seventeen.
Stage eighteen and Latvala is pushing as hard as he can to gain on Ostberg, but he knows after his mistake in Monte Carlo that he has to bring the car home in one piece. Ostberg is still not backing down, flinging the car around the snow bank like bumper cars at a fairground. Mads manages to inch three tenths off Latvala's time. Loeb and Ogier stay steady.
Stage nineteen and twenty sees Dani Sordo have more major issues when he crashes. Though this time it is terminal and he is out of Rally Sweden. Novikov after a great rally and getting himself into the top six, crashes yet again. It's not terminal but he loses a massive ten minutes digging himself out. Ogier too gets himself into trouble by crashing into a snow bank, but lady luck shines for Ogier and he manages to get himself back on the road pretty quickly.
Stage twenty one sees more of the Latvala and Ostberg saga but this time they are both matching each other on pace. Loeb is realising that his poor start on day two has hampered any chance of getting close to Ogier and is starting to settle for a decent second place finish.
Stage twenty two is the final stage for Rally Sweden. It is also the power stage, meaning extra points are up for grabs and it's pretty tense for Ogier, Loeb, Latvala and Ostberg. But the stage goes off without incident from the top four and it's only Loeb who doesn't get any points in the power stage.
Power Stage results.
Ogier 3pts
Latvala 2pts
Ostberg 1pt.
So conformation of the results of Rally Sweden.
1. Ogier 3:11:41.9
2. Loeb + 41.8
3. Ostberg + 1:24.5
4. Latvala + 1: 30.6
5. Neuville + 5:06.4
The drivers standings after Rally Sweden
1. Ogier 46pts
2. Loeb 43pts
3. Ostberg 24pts
4. Sordo 15pts
5. Latvala 14pts
So can anybody stop the wins from the Sebastiens? Who knows. All I know is that I'm looking forward to some warmth in Rally Mexico after two races on snow.
So see you in a months time for another WRC review, but if you can't wait that long I'm also on Twitter @squiffany
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