P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm ended their 6½ year victory drought in fine style in Sweden, taking a comfortable half
Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin quickly overtook Adrien Fourmaux and Alex Coria to secure second place in the first stage on Sunday, pushing M-Sport Ford’s duo to third. Despite the change, the Frenchmen remained composed and clinched their first-ever WRC podium. Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe finished fourth, taking the lead in the WRC standings, while the Manufacturers’ Championship is tied between Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT and Toyota Gazoo Racing. Evans lost the Wolf Power Stage top spot by a slim margin of 0.039 seconds due to a snowbank incident, allowing his teammate Kalle Rovanperä to claim the extra point. Super Sunday’s points distribution awarded Evans with seven bonus points for being among the top seven fastest drivers of the final day. Kalle Rovanperä and Ott Tänak, both contenders for victory, crashed out on the same Friday stage, briefly leaving Takamoto Katsuta in the lead. Katsuta’s quest for victory against Lappi on Saturday came to an end in stage 10 with a crash. Oliver Solberg and Elliot Edmondson secured a comfortable win in WRC2, triumphing over Sami Pajari and Enni Mälkönen. Solberg’s remarkable performance led him to hold third place in the overall standings on Friday, finishing fifth overall after a flawless weekend. The thrilling WRC2 podium battle between Pajari and Estonian Georg Linnamäe with Brit co-driver James Morgan was intense, culminating in a narrow victory for Pajari. To get the full rally report, tune in to Motorsport Monday tomorrow.
