Rovanpera tops Rally Sweden Shakedown
9th February 2023Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera ended Rally Sweden’s WRC shakedown run as the fastest man on the snow, pipping Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi to the benchmark time.
The net-championship leader was the first driver out on the shakedown test, following Sebastien Ogier’s part-time season which has resulted in the Frenchman not taking part in Sweden. Usually, being the first driver out tends to provide a disadvantage to their run time and this proved to be true for the reigning world champion who initially struggled.
However, by the end of the day, Rovanpera stood out on top of the overall timing sheets ahead of Hyundai’s Lappi.
Despite missing out on the top spot, the Hyundai driver would take the result in good graces after he finished last months Rallye Monte-Carlo in eighth place. In a bid to get his weekend off to a good start, Lappi managed to top the leaderboard throughout the most of the shakedown runs but his shakedown victory was brought to an abrupt end by the defending champion.
Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top three, behind Lappi but ahead of fellow teammate Elfyn Evans who finished the session in P4 – six-tenths down. Hyundai’s returning driver, Craig Breen, finished the top five.
Hyundai’s star man, Thierry Neuville, finished the pre-event shakedown in sixth place. The Belgian had a good run in the test, which allowed him to adjust his car for the main event, but his shakedown was met by an premature end due to illness.
M-Sport Ford’s Ott Tanak and Pierre Loubet finished in P7 and P8, ahead of WRC2 drivers Oliver Solberg and Ole Christian Veiby who completed the top 10. Toyota’s fourth car, manned by Italy’s Lorenzo Bertelli, completed the Rally1 cars entry list down in P16.
That’s all for the article; Rovanpera tops Rally Sweden Shakedown!
Who is your early contender for the Swedish rally? Let us know in the comments!
Read more WRC here:
- 2023 WRC Rally Sweden Preview
- Rossel secures victory in Monte-Carlo after Gryazin penalty
- Rallye Monte-Carlo: Ogier remains ahead after Rovanpera attack
- Rallye Monte-Carlo: Ogier maintains WRC lead on Friday
- Rallye Monte-Carlo: Ogier dominates opening day to take early lead
Give us a follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the latest news from the world of Motorsport! You can also support us on Patreon!
Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
