Rally Sweden: Sebastien Ogier and VW top qualifying
Sebastien Ogier continued Volkswagen's impressive start to its debut season with the Polo R WRC as he set the Rally Sweden qualifying pace
Running on snow for the first time, the Frenchman's Polo was quickest through the 2.4-mile stage by 0.9 seconds on the outskirts of Hagfors. The Monte Carlo Rally runner-up felt he could have been even faster.
"It was not a good start," he said, "we didn't get off the line so well."
VW had been one-two in free practice, with Jari-Matti Latvala heading his team-mate Ogier. Latvala could only manage sixth in qualifying, but his time - 2.7 slower than Ogier's benchmark - was impressive given that he stalled on the line.
Qatar M-Sport driver Mads Ostberg was second fastest in his Ford, with Mikko Hirvonen the leading Citroen in third.
"I think there was probably more grip than I thought," said Hirvonen. "I could have pushed harder in there."
The biggest surprise of the day came with 22-year-old Swede Pontus Tidemand, who placed his Ford Fiesta RS WRC fourth, giving the locals plenty to cheer.
Juho Hanninen was fifth fastest in his Fiesta, just ahead of Latvala.
Belgian Thierry Neuville impressed with seventh fastest, on only his second appearance in the snow, while nine-time world champion Sebastien Loeb was a slightly subdued eighth. Loeb reported no problems and a clean run through the stage when he reached the finish.
The morning's only casualties were Jarkko Nikara, who put his Mini off the road in free practice and Dani Sordo, who suffered brake problems on his Citroen and was only able to make one practice run.
He was 10th fastest in qualifying, one place up on M-Sport's Evgeny Novikov.
Leading qualifying stage times: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Sebastien Ogier VW 1m51.357s 2. Mads Ostberg Qatar M-Sport Ford + 0.900s 3. Mikko Hirvonen Citroen + 1.564s 4. Pontus Tidemand PTM Ford + 2.448s 5. Juho Hanninen Qatar M-Sport Ford + 2.561s 6. Jari-Matti Latvala VW + 2.705s 7. Thierry Neuville Qatar M-Sport Ford + 3.037s 8. Sebastien Loeb Citroen + 3.468s 9. Evgeny Novikov Qatar M-Sport Ford + 4.163s 10. Dani Sordo Citroen + 4.787s
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
The outrageous mountain-climbers that became Pikes Peak legends
Ranking lost WRC legend Richard Burns' 10 best rallies
What to expect from the WRC's venture to the Arctic
Toyota selects Ogier for WRC’s visit to Croatia
Ogier proud of WRC Monte display after "rollercoaster of emotions"
Why Loeb v Ogier duel gave the WRC's new hybrid era the ideal start
WEC Imola: Ferrari remains on top in FP2 as Fuoco beats Porsche
WRC Croatia: Neuville, Evans tied for the lead after eight stages
WIN! A VIP Race Weekend Experience in Monaco
Lauda's 1976 German GP helmet to be auctioned at F1 Miami GP
How Rovanpera showed his class above his WRC rivals in Kenya
How a new 'old' challenge is capturing the spirit of British rallying lore
How Lappi survived Swedish snow carnage to snap his lengthy WRC drought
The new WRC highs Neuville reached to defeat Monte master Ogier
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments