With more than seven kilometers long Shakedown The Swedish WRC Rally started the special stage on Thursday. Ots Tanaks was the fastest in the first race, but Kalle Rovanpera, one of the main favorites of the race, showed the fastest time in the remaining two races.
At the finish, Rovanpera was 0.3 seconds ahead of Tanak and 0.8 seconds behind Terrier Neuwil. So after the failed Monte Carlo WRC rally, Hyundai has proven its speed at least in training.
For a long time, the fastest result in the WRC2 class belonged to two Norwegians – Andreas Mikelsen and Ole Christian Weiby, but in the final fourth race, Nikolai Grjazin was very fast, making the fastest time by 1.5 seconds, thus showing the fastest time.
It must be said that several riders, including the leaders, lived in coupes during training.
Photo: wrc.com
After getting acquainted with the track, several riders admitted that this rally promises to be very, very fast and in several places the cars will reach maximum speeds, so riders will need a lot of courage to drive at full speed on the Swedish rally roads. The track is also covered with heavy snow this year, where large coupes can be seen on the sides of the track.
Athletes will have to complete 19 special stages (303 km) in three days. A total of 50 crews will go to the start.
Shakedown results:
