The only winter rally of the year is run in the World Rally Championship, when the race is held in Sweden around Umeå on the weekend. Sports expert Henri Haapamäki comment on talking points before the competition.
1. Does the starting point bother Rovanperä?
Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperän year as the reigning world champion got off to a brilliant start when the Finn drove his teammate to second in Monte Carlo by Sebastién Ogier after. Ogier, who is only driving for part of the season, is not involved now, and collects team points for Toyota Takamoto Katsuta.
Rovanperä sets out to plow the road on Friday, but unlike gravel rallies in Sweden, the first to start usually doesn’t suffer as much from his starting point. Umeå has been promised sunny weather and a little frost for the weekend.
There are plenty of snow banks available, but how the road surface will hold up when the temperature rises during the days is still a small puzzle.
– Especially if the road starts to break, then there is even an advantage in being the first to leave. However, it requires frost, because if it has snowed or it is so warm that the road softens, then it will be slippery for the first cars before a proper ice bottom digs out, Haapamäki reflects.
– It has been such a hard winter in Sweden that as long as we get freezing weather for the race, I think there won’t be any problems with the roads.
Rovanperä’s potential problems may become more concrete when the clips are run again and he has to open tracks in the wake of cars from smaller classes. Last year, Hyundai had an eight-second lead on Friday to Thierry Neuville turned into a loss of a few seconds during the afternoon runs.
– It certainly has a small negative effect, because the road is completely messed up after front-wheel drive cars. A good, clean track gets full of snow when smaller cars and different driving lines are used.
Rovanperä has driven to the podium in the three previous winter rallies (Sweden 2020, Rovaniemi 2021, Sweden 2022), and the ranking has improved by a notch, culminating in last year’s victory. The starting point for the competition is calm, as the season started well and the competition is enjoyable.
– Sweden’s Power Stage bet 2020 was deafening, and he is a bit ahead of the others. He is a clear favorite, but no safe ride can win in this group and you have to go at the limit all the time. Kalle can ride hard and is one of the most confident to drive it fast.
2. The smoothest race for the win of the season?
Even if Rovanpera is given the title of favorite, if you think about it in advance, you can expect one of the most even races of the season from the Swedish race. The differences in the high-speed rally are smaller than in many other races, and the biggest winning candidate gives a handicap at his starting place on Friday.
Racing partners include Neuville (2018), M-Sport Ott Tänak (2019) and Toyota Elfyn Evans (2020) have celebrated the victory, and with Hyundai, they got a feel for the winter roads at the Kuopio SM Rally Esapekka Lappi has driven to the podium in both Toyota and Citroen.
Haapamäki believes that many drivers can ride to victory.
– Neuville has been out of his game in fast gravel rallies, so to speak, but it is remarkable how hard he has been able to drive in Sweden considering how narrow and fast the road is there. Maybe he’s an ice specialist after all.
– Evans is less talked about, but he can be such a surprise that when he hits the plank properly, he can be really hard. Tänak has also now gained more kilometers in the Ford, and he is certainly more ready than Montessa.
Lappi and Neuville are now driving in the same team for the first time, and the two have had a tough time in Sweden. Four years ago Lapland stretched itself to second place ahead of the Belgian, while last year the tables turned.
Lappi, who finished eighth in Monte Carlo, finished last in the previous special test in Kuopio, but assured that his confidence is right under the familiar race. Although the car is still relatively new, after a difficult start, the Pieksämäki native is hungry for a good result in Sweden.
– Lapland is certainly trying to take the lead from Neuville. “Esuppi” (Lappi) was not quite happy with his car in Kuopio, and he complained about the rear end grip and changed his car several times.
– He knows he can do well in the race, but if the car still doesn’t feel like an extension of his spine, it’s difficult to go through hundreds of kilometers and corners without breaking the bank at some point.
3. Finns versus others in the WRC2 class
If there are several winning candidates on the WRC class side, there are also in the WRC2 class. Swedish-Norwegian Oliver Solberg got to leave Hyundai after an unsuccessful last season, but a step back to Rally2 cars at the wheel of Skoda would seem to have been good. The 21-year-old Solberg didn’t collect class points yet in Monte, but showed his speed by driving no less than 10 bottom times.
In addition to Solberg, the Norwegian who drove second in the class last year will also be seen at the line Be Christian Veibyand Finns are looking for success Teemu Suninen, Emil Lindholm, Jari Huttunen, Sami Pajari and Lauri Joona.
Haapamäki also expects second-class events in the language of water.
– There can’t be a better list than that. Lots of Finns and a tough group, but if one of them should be picked, it would be Suninen. He has driven convincing results in a Rally2 car, but Lindholm has also tested and driven a lot during the beginning of the year. He can also be very fast.
Haapamäki sees that Solberg certainly has the desire to perform in front of his home crowd.
– He got a lot of trouble on his neck and there were failures, but when he has taken Napsu back, the ride has been convincing. The same will certainly continue in Sweden as well.
The Swedish World Cup Rally begins Thursday morning with Håkmark’s test special exam (you will switch to another service), and the first race ek will be run in the center of Umeå on Thursday evening. regularly follows the events of the competition moment by moment on the website.