67. Rally Sweden 2019
14. 2. – 17. 2. 2019, Torsby • snow - ice 316.80 km • total distance including road sections - 1460.59 km • Other years
Info
SS19
"It's amazing to win here. I know how hard my friend Markko [Martin] was pushing and he got very close. I'm very relieved to get it. On the Power Stage I just went with a good rhythm again - just a bit faster than normal but no risks. It was a good stage."
"I expected the conditions to be worse in the beginning of the stage. I was too cautious but then I started to push!"
"I tried to have a good stage. We were not able to fight with Lappi in the fast sections today. We are good in the twisty but on the fast stages we are missing something - on the edge all the time. That's part of the game."
"Tricky conditions in there. I tried to stay in the lines, not go crazy. Let's see what Thierry does. I cross my fingers."
"It was good. A few small errors in places but in these conditions that's inevitable."
"I had a massive impact on the front-left and now the power-steering feels tight. I struggled after that - lost some time."
"It was complicated. Up and down. I'm happy to be at the finish. We did some good times, some less-good times. We understood a lot, so not so bad at the end."
"It's a dream to be here in a World Rally Car. I want to say thanks to all the people that are helping me. I really enjoyed this weekend and felt I improved. You need time in a car with this. My next rally? I don't know but for sure I hope there will be more this year."
"It's fantastic to be back. We had some super stages in the good conditions."
"It's getting very difficult. On the last part here there was lots of snow and slush. Very difficult to drive. I'm not sure if the road is getting better or worse."
"The good pace here has given me confidence, but in the end there are no points. Okay, there are positive things. Now I need to prepare for the next rally."
"It's a smile of relief to be at the end. The result is really good, to come here on my first rally in the category and win is good. A difficult weekend but the result is strong."
"I don't think I will get so much. The end of the stage is slushy - it will improve. Every year the same story for me on this very nice rally."
"A lot of action! The last stage was okay."
SS18
spin
spin
"I try to push as much as I can. I'd struggle to do much more. Tricky conditions but a clean stage, One mistake in a snow bank but I'm pushing hard. Doing what I can."
"Good. It was so much more tricky than the first one. The grip is 30% less maybe. You need to be careful but on it at the same time."
"A small mistake, but no chance. I was fighting with car like hell. It wants to go straight in each corner. I couldn't do more. No chance."
"Difficult conditions now, there is a clean line but its so fast it's difficult to know how much to push."
"I was impressed by Seb's time this morning. Conditions were trickier on the second pass. The ice has been scored by the tyres and you lose a lot of braking potential but I'm happy with my run."
"It's okay, a very nice stage. I struggled to find the best exits from some corners. I wish the rally was longer."
"I didn't expect the first part to be so slippery and I made a silly mistake. A shame, the rest of the stage was good."
"A good feeling here and we'll try and keep that for the Power Stage too. I had to be careful not to destroy the studs in my tyres."
"I don't know, the chances are very small but if there is a chance I have to play it to the maximum. I saved my tyres as best I could."
"As first car there was a lot of loose snow in the ruts, that's why I'm half a minute slower than before."
SS17
"Just trying to take it easy and avoid mistakes."
"I would normally love these conditions, they are absolutely amazing." But not amazing in this car? "Absolutely not."
"Conditions are really nice. I was careful everywhere but it's enjoyable to drive."
"I had a very clean stage. I tried to be perfect but maybe I could push a bit more - I don't know. Hard to do a lot more, I feel. I would like a car that was a bit more reactive."
"Good, good. Quite a clean stage, a few small mistakes but otherwise clean driving and no risks."
"I can't do more. I'm on the edge of what is possible with the car."
"Okay, I pushed pretty hard."
"Okay, a good stage, but I'm trying not to do anything silly. Seb's manufacturers' points don't count, so this fight doesn't make a difference to that battle but personally I want to finish in front..."
"I'm trying to find a good compromise between too much and not enough - that's what I've struggled with all rally. I had a good stage, let's see."
"First I have to thank the team for an amazing job to repair the car. Now I need to rediscover the driving rhythm."
"A really nice stage. A bit looser than I expected but I tried to enjoy it."
"Perfect conditions. Absolutely fantastic for me and the car. A great feeling. Thanks to my engineer who made changes to the centre differential. I'm much more confident."
"Really good conditions, very enjoyable. The next one I'll cruise to try and save the tyres for the Power Stage."
"The stage was really nice but my not my driving. It's difficult to find the rhythm - I don't trust myself." Perhaps you need another drive in this car - maybe in Finland? "Forget it!"
SS15
"It's really tricky one. A lot of water and slush. Just have to keep it neat and tidy."
"We've had a great day. I'm sure we''re benefiting from our road position. Yesterday was the big job, today we just had to keep smart."
""It's going to be very very close. I was a bit careful in here, just trying to be safe."
"That's good but it's a very tricky stage. The ruts are everywhere and they are full of water. It feels like it is not getting any better!"
"It's an important stage. Very tricky with a lot of standing water around. I was maybe a little too careful."
"Not nice! I think the right-hand isn't great for the start, then Pontus sprayed a load of water on my screen in the first corner!"
"We still have the [brake] problem, but this one is so technical its not so bad. Just a bit of handbrake and sliding around."
"So much water on the stage which makes it very difficult. When you hit it, the car is aquaplaning. For the spectators it's great, I think!"
SS14
"Had technical issues on the stage. Had to restart the car on the stage. After that everything was ok."
Spin, hit a tree & stuck in a snowbank
"I've done everything I could today. Yesterday was the key. Today we are using the road position. No flight. It is going as planned."
"I went a bit wide after the jump and had to go a bit sideways. I went a bit on the bank, it was not very close."
"I have only five tyres and they are quite destroyed. I try to manage them on the last two stages, and they are okay."
"I was pushing very hard and I got caught out. I lost maybe four or five seconds. I continued pushing after that."
spin
"It's not been a good afternoon. Conditions went against us but that's my fault for not pushing yesterday."
"A good stage, too loose to get a good time I think but the stage is the best in the world. Lots of Swedish spectators. Just amazing."
"I had nothing to lose. I decided to push to see how I could go. It didnlt work out. I should have accepted that the lines are very narrow."
"I have no brakes at all. From the beginning nearly, it started to go down, down, down."
in snow bank
SS13
Rolled
Stuck in a ditch
"Let's see. This stage was an okay time. We were trying to take care of the tyres."
"Conditions definitely a lot harder than the previous one. We kept steady, in the line. Everything is working, I just have to do the job and preserve the tyres for the super special."
"We had a moment in there! I lost the grip and ended in the snowbank. We were very lucky!"
"Good, good. I'm trying. This is an easy car to drive but it's tricky here. Being on the pace and to be off is a very fine line. Lose the car in the slush and you can lose the whole race."
"Still very tricky - for everybody I think. We have never been in this position before. We still try to work on the set-up. We're going to try some more things now."
"We have to save the tyres I think. I only have five - so no option. We try to not be too aggressive."
"I had a good stage but I don't know about the tyres. Towards the end I slowed down because I don't want to destroy them. We have to be clever."
"Horrible. That's like the trickiest stage I've ever done in Monte Carlo. The only thing on your mind is survival."
SS12
broken radiator
"Some big ruts and we were driving quite a lot on the sump guard. Okay, the time wasn't too bad."
"Compared to yesterday it's like driving on a railway, it's so smooth. The conditions are making a massive difference."
"I'm trying to drive fast. We made some changes [to the car] and they feel good. It will be hard to catch Ott but we drive at a good speed. You never know."
"Better for sure but still not perfect. We gave a way a bit in a few moments."
"I just kept it on the ruts. It feels slow but it's efficient. Very nice to get some feedback that I'm driving well!"
"Not being in the slush. That's it."
"Some better pace notes now so a better drive. Not perfect, but better."
"The lines are getting cleaner and cleaner. Tricky conditions, and I have to think about my tyres, but I try to drive fast."
"It's impossible. I can't do anything, They are going to murder us behind with this road position."
"We made a small change to the front diff. The car is fantastic to drive, unbelievable."
"It was difficult, I can tell you. I can understand what Ogier meant. The line was very narrow. Just left-foot braking and keeping it on the road."
"I'm enjoying it a bit more now but this a difficult second loop. I was a little bit in a snow bank and the car stalled but I managed."
SS11
"I think the rear diff is broken. It happened in the last stage. It's no fun to drive like this."
"It's a big shame that we lost everything in one stage, in one corner. Now we have to do the best we can."
"It's been a good morning. Good on the first two, this stage a bit steadier but still a good rhythm. No problem."
"It's good fun but I would like to go faster - we have to change something because the top speed is not there. I'm using the handbrake too much as well."
"Not the best morning for us. The feeling in the car is good but we we struggling to produce the speed."
"I did a perfect stage, I enjoyed it a lot but the time is complete rubbish. That's how it is..."
"The conditions are getting slower so we can't compared our time to Seb. Ours was a good time compared to Kris. Our car is good on the twisty roads but in the fast we are losing. We need to look at that."
"I feel I can explore a bit now, I feel more comfortable. We're in a battle now."
"The stage is nice, lots of people here, I really enjoyed it."
"I didn't remember it well and I didn't brake so much. So far so good."
"It's been really nice, great conditions. A good start in SS9 a small mistake in SS10. Here it started to come good but we lost time to Seb somewhere."
"The only thing we can do today is try and enjoy. This stage is just beautiful to drive."
"Now it's much better. This should be the first day. I remember these stages a bit."
SS10
"We just got sucked into a snow bank and got stuck. Too much speed and lots of loose snow."
"An okay stage. I made a mistake here last year so I tried to keep it in the lines. A clean stage. I could have gone faster but that comes with risk."
"Okay, it was a technical stage and we had a clean run. Nothing special. I'm in a good rhythm at the moment."
in snow bank
"It was okay. A lot of changing grip conditions, difficult to read, but generally okay."
"The car is handling how I want but I'm just not brave enough any more. I'm too cautious, losing a lot in the high-speed places. I guess it's from my mistake yesterday. I don't want to do that again."
"It was okay but if I try to compare to last year I struggle to keep the car on the road."
"I can only control what I do but I feel good. A bit more of an attack mode. A bit more confidence. If the road melts in the afternoon we could be in trouble with our road position."
SS9
in snow bank
"Not a good feeling again and this rally I'm treating like a test now. We have to improve the car but we struggle to do that."
"In the really fast sections I was taking it slightly carefully and losing time. Looks like I'll need to be on the limit all the time to get the top times. I'm feeling confident but we cannot make any mistakes."
"It was just a clean run. Nothing special. A long day ahead of us, so let's just get it going. It would have been stupid to take any risks here."
"It was okay, a clean run, we have another gear but a clean start. A big gap to the guys ahead but we will do what we can."
"Not perfect, struggling a bit with the front end in places. A podium is still possible, though."
"I don't know. It felt quite a steady run in here. Nothing special and no risks. Too slow at the beginning for sure."
"No, for me my notes were too slow. Not good notes. The car was okay."
"A very fast stage, I tried but I had lots of understeer and the car was really imprecise. I tried my best."
"It was icy in there - frozen - which might benefit the guys ahead. Like yesterday the feeling in the car was nice. New stage, new notes, let's see."
"Very careful, I want to get a feeling before we try a bit."
"There were so much grip but we had a lot of understeer in places. We're here just to enjoy what we have."
"It's a great stage with good memories for me from my win in 2008. The first few kilometres were frozen gravel and hard on the tyres, after that lots of ice - very nice."
"What can I do today? Not much, just get more mileage in the car. It's hard to find a real motivation."
"The conditions were good, nice, but my driving - ha! - not so nice. At least my first clean stage."
SS8
in snow bank
SS7
Broken wheel
Broken wheel
brakes problem
"We had a really good time on the previous stage. This one was really rough, so lots of big hits on the car. I wasn't so careful but it was okay."
"It's okay but we hit a big stone in this stage. I'm lucky not to get a puncture."
"The car is working well. I just put the front wheels in the ruts and tried to keep them there."
"I'm doing what I can. It's okay, part of the game, you hit a bank and sometimes it catches you. It was my mistake, and a stupid one. When you push you take the risks, and mistakes happen. That happened to me today."
"I tried to manage my tyres this afternoon but still I used a lot. We tried to save our best ones for the next stage. Let's see. A long way still to go."
"I start to enjoy it now. The roads are fantastic and this car is fantastic. I just need to hold the focus."
"That's good. We were taking it a bit carefully. It looks like we should push more, but that comes with big risks. It's a good feeling to be leading but the question is how we finish the rally."
"I tried to do what I could. Not so much I could have done better. This stage was hard with the gravel. We had a good run, I'm happy."
"I tried really hard. There are some places to gain with the road position so I tried to put a little bit more into this one."
"I'm a bit annoyed by the stall. I don't know what happened. The dash said 1st gear but when I dropped the clutch I was in 2nd. Not what we needed when we're fighting for tomorrow's road position. A lot of time lost."
"It's tough in these conditions. My tyres are okay."
"Very tricky. I tired to do the best I could. But with no aero [at the front] and being first on the road it was hard. With gravel lines and slush either side it's not easy."
SS6
"Much better but I must say the conditions are really hard. It's my first time on this type of roads on the studs. It's hard to find the balance."
"I enjoy every kilometre. It has started to go better and better."
"Just keep it in the ruts and that's it. We are missing our front splitter so we have no front aero. It's not comfortable at speed but we can manage."
"Not perfect, but okay, we'll take that."
in snow bank
"We saved the tyres a bit too much on the previous one. Here I had a clean stage but it's hard to feel comfortable to push in these conditions. Not a great stage. I need to improve."
"I can focus a bit more on the driving now [the throttle issue is fixed]. I'm feeling more confident but I struggle a bit with understeer."
"That's nice to hear. It felt really good! Big moments but okay, that's the game. We have to go flat out."
"This one was better than the previous one. I tried to drive clean, stay in the line, make no mistakes. It's so easy to go off. So, finally a good stage. We have to drive clean this afternoon."
"My tyres were moving about at the end. The conditions are bad with the narrow roads and the slush. With Seb out I have just one car ahead now and that makes it worse."
"They went off and are trying to get back on I guess. They are in a narrow place. We saw they were okay so we continued. With missing aero at the front of my car I have no clue how the tyres will last. I tried to drive gently but fluid."
in snow bank
SS5
Stuck in a ditch
"So difficult. Some places extremely high grip and just a few with no grip at all. It's impossible to predict."
"I got caught by a short right-hander in 5th gear. I hit a bank and almost rolled. It took a lot of time, for sure."
"It's a long loop and I tried to save my tyres. Maybe I was too careful, I don't know. We'll see."
spin
"The car is fixed and the car is good now. Now it's good to do a stage and get the feeling."
"I have a good feeling, and it's a pretty good time. But these are very difficult conditions. A lot of slush outside the line, aquaplaning too, but that's the game."
"Very high grip in some places, slushy in others. That wasn't maximum attack but I had a clean run. Let's see what Teemu can do."
"Really difficult to keep the car in the line in these conditions. When you slide out of it you lose the rear. I tried my best."
"I enjoyed it. I don't think my driving style suited the stages this morning. Maybe its better in the afternoon but I'll have to look after my tyres."
"The line is bad, lots of gravel and so much slush. In these conditions the car works best, and gives great performance, but [the cleaning means] it will be almost impossible to challenge the guys behind."
"It's more a gravel rally than a snow rally now. I hit a snow bank and the car spun."
"Not so much fun now, I just try to survive. Some gravel and slush on the road. I didn't want to take a risk here - it felt really uncomfortable."
spin
SS4
"Now we start from the beginning again. After the off earlier the car feels a bit strange but nothing dramatic. The pace was quite okay I think."
"A tidy morning. That was the plan. That stage is one of the best in the world!"
"We had a spin, and I think we have a radiator full of snow. The temperature is too high and we have to drive in road mode."
"I did some small changes [to the car] after each stage. It's getting there now. It's tricky to feel the grip at high speed."
in snow bank
"After 5km I destroyed the front aero, I thought I had a puncture - that was the feeling. I just went a bit wide by mistake."
stopped
"I have a good feeling, which can be dangerous.... I just need to continue like this and avoid mistakes."
"A good stage. Really sweet conditions - beautiful. You can see that the ice is breaking up a little for the afternoon but we hope for the best."
"I'm enjoying it and the car feels okay, I just feel I'm not exploring it enough yet."
"I try to build confidence. It's very fast in these cars and in these conditions. Not easy to get the confidence but I try. The feeling is good. I just need to be able to get on the limit."
"Conditions are really good so we need to take the best out of it. Some of the nicest Sweden conditions for now but I expect the second loop will be completely different. Let's see what we can do."
"I'm not happy with the settings in this stage. It was very, very bumpy and I was bouncing around like a kangaroo. We have to look at his before the second pass."
"The start was good but the end of the stage was white with soft snow on the surface. Not a bad loop for me, no mistakes, but I think the toughest for me is coming on the second loop."
SS3
rolled
"I don't like to drive like I am at the moment. My mistake - that's it."
"I lost some time passing Kalle, we slowed down quite a lot. Before that not so easy. I have absolutely no rhythm. I'm not confident with the car. I feel my lack of experience."
"I simply didn't see a junction. I was confused by an orange arrow sign. I lost 30 seconds."
in snow bank
in snow bank
in snow bank
"A bit better than the previous one but with this push the time should be better. No issue but I just can't go faster."
"A clean run, but if I stay in the in the lines I don't get the traction out of the corners. We will try to hang in there for the opening loop and hope it's better on the repeat."
"I can be happy with this driving, but the lines are quite wide. I'm not sure I have any bumpers left at the front or rear!"
"A better rhythm. Still too aggressive in a couple of places but generally good."
"A better rhythm in here but still not enough I think. Compared to the first stage I drove better, the confidence went back."
"My rhythm is not good enough. The car feels good, I'm clean, but I'm obviously not adventurous enough with the grip. What more can I say?"
"A good stage. The beginning was a bit looser than the first stage. It's cleaning a bit. The weekend is long but for the moment everything is working."
"I pushed a little bit more but I think the conditions are getting faster. Some fresh snow here and we are making some lines [for the drivers behind]."
"This one a bit more difficult than the first. There was more fresh snow on the top and the grip was lower. The car is good, I had fun in the stage."
SS2
stopped
"Quite okay but I need to get comfortable with the set-up"
"My second only snow rally. We'll do our best to build experience."
"One spin and we stopped the engine too. My first time here since 2006. I don't have the confidence yet."
"I haven't driven a rally for two years, so I feel a bit rusty."
spin
"Oy, oy, oy! That was not nice. We had to reverse to turn around." And the car? "The temperature is not okay, We have to go now."
"Just a bit of a spin into a snow bank. It took a while to turn the car around. Everything is okay though."
"Quite okay. Some really small things and maybe I'm driving a bit wrong. I need to find out more."
spin
"The car is a bit slow to react in these conditions. It's very fast and flowing and that's where we struggle. But a clean run. I'm happy with that. Two spares didn't affect the balance."
spin
"Yes, it was quite distracting, we had some snow on the screen. We'll see if we can fix it before the next stage."
"The grip is amazing but I couldn't use the car as I wanted. We can go much faster."
"The feeling was good. I'm really happy to drive here. I was too aggressive in a couple of places but otherwise all good."
"I feel I'm being too hesitant in the car, I'm not driving free yet. I need to find my rhythm."
"It felt clean but I wasn't taking full advantage of the grip available. Okay, I'm happy to have a sensible start."
"Actually quite good grip, just a few slushy places. Overall the conditions are quite fair at the moment, all good."
"It was okay. I could push a bit more but its always tricky to start at the that speed at the beginning. I can go quicker. The conditions are not too bad."
"It's warm, seven or eight degrees, and very slushy. The grip is okay but a bit inconsistent. Not easy. Not as bad as last year when I had 10cms of fresh snow!"
SS1
"In these conditions the car is undriveable for me."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's okay but we hit the big tyres, and the steering wheel is not straight. I was worried but it's okay."
"This weekend is going to be tricky. We're second on the road tomorrow so maybe good conditions in the morning. I feel comfortable in the car, that's important. I hope to be able to fight for lots of points."
"There was a bit of pressure to get through this stage. Now we can focus on the real action!"
"My approach hasn't changed since Monte Carlo. We'll go flat-out and then we'll see where we are."
"Not so nice. Okay, the the category is good but the conditions are not nice and the car is not right."
"I have a good car now, I felt that straight away. I'm going to push on this rally for sure!"
"I should be quick here"
"It's our first start in WRC 2 so it's interesting for us. This is tough racing and we want to learn it. We will start slow and increase our pace. Very slippery here."
"It's an amazing atmosphere. A really nice landing for me on my first Rally Sweden."
"It was a good start for us, no mistakes, but the stage was so, so slippery. I didn't expect that!"