MOTORSPORT: History made in shortest WRC round

Three different makes were represented on the podium at the second round of the World Rally Championship – and New Zealanders Hayden Paddon and John Kennard made some history in the shortened event.

There was other history too.

While Volkswagen continued its WRC dominance with its 11th straight victory, Paddon and Kennard finished within half a minute of VW’s triple world champion Frenchmen Sebastien Ogier and Julian Ingrassia in their first rally in Hyundai’s new-generation i20.

The Kiwis became the first competitors from outside Europe to make the podium at Rally Sweden.

They had been within 10 seconds of the VW Polo R at one point, but hit a wooden post within metres of the finish of the final Power Stage which caused a water leak and forced them to stop to repair it.

The second place equalled the pair’s previous best result in the WRC, in Sardinia last year, and Hyundai is only five points behind VW in this season’s manufacturer championship after notching back-to-back podiums for the first time (Belgians Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul were third on the Monte Carlo Rally in the new i20’s debut).

Norwegian Mads Ostberg and his new co-driver this season, Ola Floene, took third place in Sweden, within a minute of the victorious VW in M-Sport’s latest-specification Ford Fiesta RS and little more than 15 seconds ahead of another VW driven by their countrymen, Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jaeger.
Yet another Norwegian, Evind Brynildsen, set a record over the famous Colin’s Crest jump – named in honour of late Scottish world champion Colin McRae.

Brynildsen began the jump at 165kmh in fifth gear in his Ford Fiesta R5 and flew 45 metres, which he called “a nice little bonus”.

“I actually heard that Thierry Neuville [the previous record holder] didn’t believe that the Fiesta R5 could go that fast, but he can join me for a ride if he is unsure!”

Unusually warm weather before the event had threatened the only true winter rally in the WRC, but organisers shortened the course by almost a third, with nine of the 21 scheduled stages dropped, and enough ice and snow arrived just in time.

The eventual 226.48 km of competition made it the shortest WRC rally in history.

VW has won in Sweden four years in a row now, with Ogier and Ingrassia the victors three times, while the German brand has won 36 of 41 WRC events since its return to the championship in 2013.

Ogier and Ingrassia had to sweep loose snow as the first competitors on the Swedish route 93 per cent of the time and survived a massive sixth-gear slide on Saturday.

They had wanted the event cancelled, but after this latest victory Ogier said: “I just love this rally. Winning in Sweden again is an incredible feeling.

“The conditions were far from ideal at the start of the week after the thawing and all the rain, which makes it all the more pleasing that we eventually had a really good, wintery Rally Sweden.

“Yesterday (Saturday) was a little bit too crazy and I took risks like I had never done in my life.

“But two wins from the first two rallies [this season] – it can’t get any better.”

Mikkelsen ran as high as second in his VW but a time-consuming spin on Saturday ended his podium hopes.

Estonian Ott Tanak in a Fiesta RS and Spaniard Dani Sordo in an i20 completed the top six, while VW’s Finn Jari-Matti Latvala (driveshaft), Hyundai’s Neuville (transmission) and Citroen’s Northern Irishman Kris Meeke (suspension) all finished down the order after problems on the opening day.

Delighted Kiwi Paddon said the Swedish organisers had done “an impressive job” to stage the event after the concerns about the conditions in the lead-up.

“It was a very good rally in the end,” Paddon said.

“A podium is a fantastic result for me and everyone in the [Hyundai] team.

“We were hoping to have had a less stressful finish, but unfortunately we had some water licking from the radiator after hitting a wooden post in the stage, which required some quick repairs.

“Thankfully, we were able to find a temporary fix and get back to service (85km away) with our second place intact!

“Late drama aside, we have had a good weekend and I have felt very comfortable in the new-generation i20 WRC.

“We made the most of our road position when we had to, and refused to get drawn into a fight for the lead.

“In the future we will fight more for the win, but there’s a bit more work needed on my driving and on the car set-up.

“We’re not far away and, for now, we’ll happily take second place.”
The first gravel rally of this year’s championship is next up in Mexico on March 3-6.

World Rally Championship driver standings after two of 13 rounds – 1. Sebastien Ogier (France, Volkswagen) 56 points; 2. Andreas Mikkelsen (Norway, VW) 33; 3. Mads Ostberg (Norway, Ford) 27; 4. Hayden Paddon (New Zealand, Hyundai) 18; Dani Sordo (Spain, Hyundai) 18; Ott Tanak (Estonia, Ford) 16; Thierry Neuville (Belgium, Hyundai) 15.

WRC manufacturer standings – 1. Volkswagen 54 points; Hyundai 49; Volkswagen II 30; M-Sport-Ford 27.