FORD

Ford's Tanak breaks Toyota's hegemony in 2023 Sweden Rally

Ott Tanak has returned to his first team, M-Sport, where he competed between 2011 and 2017, after detours this year. It looks like this change was successful. The team has done well too, as it last won the Monte-Carlo Rally in 2022 thanks to Sebastien Loeb.

“Of course it means a lot to me to get results for these guys (at M-Sport) with the new car. It takes a lot of effort to fight against such big manufacturers. I'm sure I'm too stressful for them, but it's worth it and we all win. It's great to be part of this team,” said the race-winning Estonian driver, who broke Toyota's winning streak here with his win.

Craig Breen only competes in a few rallies, but now he has revealed the whiteness of his teeth. The Irish driver led half of the snow and ice competition, but Tanak was behind him the entire time and put a lot of pressure on the Hyundai driver. The Ford driver finally took the lead at the end of the penultimate day and could not be overtaken again.

On the final day at Hyundai, a team order came into effect and Breen deliberately appeared a minute late before the Power Stage, thus receiving a 10-second time penalty so that Thierry Neuville could be second. However, the plan didn't work out, Neuville didn't do much in the last sprint, so Breen got back in front of him and ended up finishing second overall, and Neuville was again forced to settle for third place. Although Hyundai continues to prioritize the Belgian driver, he cannot take advantage of the opportunity for now.

Behind Rovanpera, his teammate Elfyn Evans finished in fifth place a minute later. Pierre-Louis Loubet was sixth after struggling to get his car across the finish line in hybrid mode on the last stage. Esapekka Lappi fell off the podium due to a costly crash on Saturday and only finished seventh. WRC2 category winner Oliver Solberg finished eighth overall. He was followed in the top ten by two other WRC2 competitors, Ole Christian Veiby and Sami Pajari.

Rally Sweden result 2023:

1. Ott Tanak (EST) Puma Rally1 HYBRID 2:25:54,5

2. Craig Breen (IRL) i20 N Rally1 HYBRID 2:26:13,2

3. Thierry Neuville (BEL) i20 N Rally1 HYBRID 2:26:14,5

4. Kalle Rovanpera (FIN) GR Yaris Rally1 HYBRID 2:26:19.6

5. Elfyn Evans (GBR) GR Yaris Rally1 HYBRID 2:27:18,5

6. Pierre Loubet (FRA) Puma Rally1 HYBRID 2:31:53,5

7. Esapekka Lappi (FIN) i20 N Rally1 HYBRID 2:33:36.9

8. Oliver Solberg (SWE) Fabia RS WRC2 2:33:42.6

9. Ole Christian Veiby (NOR) Polo GTI WRC2 2:34:24,9

10. Sami Pajari (FIN) Fabia RS WRC2 2:34:57,7

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