WRC Sweden: Rovanpera leads Solberg on Friday morning

Rovanpera moved into the lead after winning stage 3 and capitalising on teammate Esapekka Lappi stalling his GR Yaris on stage 3, dropping the Finn from the lead to sixth overall. 

As a result, Rovanpera headed back to service with a 10.4s lead over Solberg, who headed a strong start for Hyundai on the high-speed snowy roads.

Elfyn Evans held third spot, 1.2s further back, despite struggling to find confidence behind the wheel of his GR Yaris.  

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville ended the morning fourth ahead of teammate Ott Tanak, who led after winning the opening stage, but dropped time on the next two tests. 

It proved to be a difficult morning for M-Sport as Craig Breen crashed out on stage 2, while hybrid issues hampered Gus Greensmith, who is the top Ford runner in eighth (+55.0s), with a cautious Adrien Fourmaux ninth. 

An overnight freeze couple with loose snow caught many of the drivers by surprise when the rally kicked off with a blast through the 14.9km opening stage. 

However, it was Tanak that came out on top as Hyundai started the rally on the front foot. The Estonian took the stage win by 0.4s from Rovanpera, who impressed for Toyota despite being first on the road.

Solberg equally turned heads, ending the test a second shy of Tanak and 0.8s faster than Neuville, as Hyundai filled three of the top four spots.

Lappi on his WRC return was only 1.9s adrift of the pace and quicker than Evans, who sustained cosmetic damage to the rear of his car after a brush with a snow bank.

Breen, second on the road, could only manage the seventh fastest time. M-Sport teammates Greensmith and Fourmaux made a slow start, the former losing 15 seconds after overshooting a junction, while the latter was focussed on driving within himself. 

Drama struck on stage 2 when Breen brought out the red flags following a high-speed off that left his Puma well and truly buried in the deep snow. 

The Irishman had already suffered a spin after clipping a snowbank earlier in the stage, but the second incident ended his day prematurely.

Lappi, piloting the third GR Yaris he will share with Sebastien Ogier this season, starred once the stage resumed. The Finn won the test by 2.5s from Rovanpera to notch up a confidence-boosting stage win, while Solberg third fastest. 

Tanak lost time struggling with balance issues while Neuville was lucky the stage was halted, as he suffered a battery problem and a technical issue that was fixed with 10s to spare before the stage 3 time control. The Belgian was handed a nominal time along with Greensmith, who was also held up by the red flag.

Rovanpera lit up the timing screens on the final stage of the morning to win the test by 0.7s from Neuville to regain the overall lead. Evans was third fastest while Solberg dropped time after admitting he drove too cautiously.

Tanak also lost time after losing his front bumper that affected his i20 N’s aero, while a stall at the start of the stage for Lappi contributed to the 2017 Rally Finland winner’s demise from the lead.

M-Sport’s troubles continued on the final stage as Greensmith was without hybrid power that appeared to have been triggered by an earlier gearbox issue.

Rally Sweden continues this afternoon with a second pass of the morning stages, before a spectator stage in Umea city centre.