WRC Sweden: Neuville snatches lead after eventful afternoon loop

The opening seven stages of the WRC's only snow rally provided a pulsating battle for the lead with six cars separated by approximately 10s for the majority of the day.

However, a late surge from Neuville helped the Belgian snatch a 4.3s overnight lead over Toyota's Kalle Rovanpera, who briefly held the lead heading into the afternoon loop.

Toyota's Elfyn Evans surged to the lead after winning stage 4, an advantage he held until the final stage, where he lost 7.9s to Neuville struggling for grip on worn tyres in the final spectator test in Umea city centre. The Welshman dropped to third overall, 7.3s in arrears.

Teammate Esapekka Lappi is only 8.8s adrift in fourth following a strong display on this return to the WRC with Toyota, that saw the Finn briefly lead the rally after winning stage 2.

Hyundai's Oliver Solberg held fifth after sliding from second position across the afternoon, but the Swede remains in the hunt for victory.

Ott Tanak's run of bad luck continued after Hyundai were forced to retire the car due to an hybrid issue after the Estonian closed to within 1.1s of the lead after winning stage 5.

It also proved to be a difficult Friday for M-Sport, highlighted by a retirement of Craig Breen after he buried his Puma in the snow on stage 2.

Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Teammate Gus Greensmith battled gearbox and hybrid issues and a run in with a snowbank that left him well adrift in ninth, behind his stablemate Adrien Fourmaux, who produced a measured drive to end the day in eighth.

The leaderboard was shaken up after the first of the afternoon stages as Evans produced a blistering display to not only win the test but leapfrog from third into a 1.6s rally lead.

Despite facing a heavily rutted stage, Evans took a whopping 16.3s out of teammate and then rally leader Rovanpera, who struggled the most being first on the road and to encounter the dirt and ruts created. The Finn dropped to fourth overall as a result.

Evans ended the test 1.7s faster than Lappi while Solberg maintained his second overall position by logging the third fastest time. The Swede was however fortunate not to lose significant time after an encounter with a snowbank at the flying finish.

Tanak maintained his strong start finishing 0.2s behind Solberg in fourth while Fourmaux delivered his best display yet to net the fifth best time.

The infamous snowbanks did claim another victim as Toyota's Takamoto Katsuta slid wide at a right hander and found himself stuck in the snow briefly. Luckily a group of spectators were on hand to push the Japanese driver back onto the road, but the incident cost him 39s.

Craig Breen, Paul Nagle, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1

Photo by: M-Sport

The lead battle closed up after stage 6 was won by Tanak despite losing hybrid power for the final 10kms of the 27.8km run.

The Estonian clawed 4.1s on rally leader Evans, who felt he was a "bit too careful" through the stage. Although frustrated by the hybrid issue the run jumped him to second in the overall standings, just 1.1s behind Evans and 1.1s in front of Lappi in third.

Like Evans, Solberg was left to rue a a cautious run through the stage that cost him 8.5s, dropping him to fourth overall.

Neuville ended the stage fifth ahead of Rovanpera, who lost another two spots driving in the conditions he felt were the among the worst he's ever faced. It left only 8.9s covering the top six.

Behind, Greensmith's day worsened as the Brit lost valuable time to a trip through a snowbank, losing power as a result due to snow clogging the front of his Puma.

Tanak's issue at the end of the stage would come back to haunt him as Hyundai was forced to retire the car due to a technical issue before eh start of stage 6.

"Unfortunately, an issue with the hybrid kit triggered the red light on car #8 and by FIA regulations, and as a safety precaution, we will have to retire Ott Tanak's car for today," read a statement from Hyundai.

"We will investigate the issue once the car is back in service."

Craig Breen, Paul Nagle, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Hyundai's rally hopes remained intact through Neuville, who promptly won the penultimate stage of the day after a gutsy effort as darkness fell.

Rovanpera proved his nearest rival some 3.4s shy but crucially ahead of Lappi and Evans which brought the Finn back into the lead battle.

After starting the afternoon second overall, Solberg dropped more time after a tyre gamble left the Swede without sufficient grip, costing him 14.3s.

Rovanpera claimed the final stage victory of the day by 1.1s from Neuville which was enough to claim the rally lead as Evans struggled for grip. It was a similar story for Lappi and Solberg, who lost 9.1s and 15.8s respectively due to worn rubber.

The rally continues on Saturday with crews set to tackle six stages.