[WRC] Rally Sweden 2025

[dupanton]

So Neuville didn't do that for he whole year, and more importantly didn't lead the leaderboard from the first event to the last?

Yes, but he lost a lot of his lead as well. I don't say he has no chance to take the title, but his lead will go down during the year, it's not easy to keep that lead.

[Morte66]

Standings anyone?

Screenshot 2025-02-16 122458.jpg

Or there's a breakdown here if you turn the on "provisional standings" slider: https://www.wrc.com/result-and-stand...ctedStage=8347

[Eli]

Standings anyone?

1 Evans-61
2 Ogier-33
3 Rovanperä- 31
4 Neuville- 29
5 Tänak- 26

[deephouse]

Yes, but he lost a lot of his lead as well. I don't say he has no chance to take the title, but his lead will go down during the year, it's not easy to keep that lead.

It could be true. Evans have some kind excelent form on friday/morning saturday and then lose all his form in second part of saturday and sunday on many occasions, so I'm not so sure if he could pull it to the end like Neuville did. But he could surprise, maybe this two events now will give him also the confidence.

[Krigen]

So Sesk not nominated for manu points? What is the ressoning from M-sport there?

Strange

[Krigen]

1 Evans-61
2 Ogier-33
3 Rovanperä- 31
4 Neuville- 29
5 Tänak- 26

It`s early. But wery good lead for Elfyn allready

[Jarek Z]

So Sesk not nominated for manu points? What is the ressoning from M-sport there?

I don't get it. Did they expect McErlean or Munster to be faster than Sesks?

[EstWRC]

It`s early. But wery good lead for Elfyn allready

That’s a massive lead already.

Tänak for once starts the season nice and steady but still loses as much like he had retired at one event.

Well it goes for everybody basically except Evans and Ogier.

[Morte66]

The conditions, with moderate cleaning at times and more moderate pollution at other times, left it a pretty even rally. This one was settled by car and driver, not road position, which is what I dream of before every Rally Sweden and get about one time in four.

Evans: It came together. He was fast, he pushed when it made sense to and not when it didn't. Evans doesn't do "fight", he calculates.

Katsuta: in a rally that suits him, he pushed a bit more than was strictly sensible at times but rode his luck and stayed on the road.

Neuville: talked about understeer more than Evans talked about his own handling problems. Came third, a good result in the circumstances. He's very well-matched with Evans when they are both happy, i.e. when Thierry's got no understeer/oversteer and Elfyn's got no hybrid.

Tanak: looked good before his engine problems. He was the one who had me worried. I think EstWRC can take this as a promising rally, despite the result. But we seem to say "promising" instead of "victorious" a lot...

Rovanpera: made the best of a bad job, this was damage limitation but at least it was competent damage limitation. Some people would have got angsty and crashed.

Fourmaux: generally, I think he "over pushes" just a little and he would get more points over a whole season if he were steadier. This is excusable in a younger driver. But the off was just stupid and he should learn from it.

Sesks: fine. I am very impressed that he got the money together, and the drive was OK too. I hope he has some newsworthy gravel rallies later in the year, and secures himself more WRC1 time.

McErlean: is here to finish rallies and nothing else. So, well done digging yourself out of the snow.

Pajari: is here to finish rallies and nothing else, so well done for slowing down after he knocked the tyre off the rim.

[Morte66]

I don't get it. Did they expect McErlean or Munster to be faster than Sesks?

I can think of a couple of possibilities...

- M-Sport has a full-time deal with McErlean and Munster. It's not like they're actually competing for the manufacturer title, so why offend the people paying the bills?

- Somebody didn't want to put pressure on Sesks.