Latvala triumphs with Toyota win in Sweden

Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila claimed Toyota’s maiden victory on only its second event back in the FIA World Rally Championship after 17 years out of the top level of the sport.

The Finnish duo powered through the final three stages, winning each, to take an emphatic 29.2 second win. M-Sport was again able to celebrate a double podium with Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja taking second and reigning World Champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia finishing third in the Fiesta WRCs.

“It’s amazing! A new team, a new car, our second rally and we’ve won!” said a delighted Latvala. “I have no words to describe it – I’m so emotional.”

In the FIA World Rally Championship, the Finn now takes a four-point lead over Ogier with Tänak trailing his team-mate by 11 points in third as the crews head to the Americas for round three in Mexico. With its double podiums in Monte Carlo and Sweden, M-Sport has the advantage in the Manufacturers’ Championship, leading by 20 points over Toyota Gazoo Racing.

Today’s route was the shortest and covered just three stages and 58.81 competitive kilometres. With Latvala, Tänak and Ogier all in with a shout of victory, the fight was on between the rivals as they headed into the first run through the Likenäs stage. Latvala set a blistering pace and this, coupled with a spin for Ogier and Tänak suffering with the diff settings, enabled the Finn to extend his overnight advantage of 3.8 seconds to a safer 10.9 seconds. He won the re-run of the same stage and again smashed the time-sheets in the Power Stage to take maximum points all round. Latvala’s victory – his fourth Swedish win – sees Toyota back on the top step of a WRC podium for the first time since 1999, when Didier Auriol won the China Rally for the Japanese giant in a Corolla.

After Ogier’s spin, where he lost nearly 30 seconds, the fight for victory was over but the Frenchman managed to salvage more points with second in the Power Stage. Tänak was unable to match his stunning Saturday pace and had no choice but to settle for second, the combination of car and driver just not working out the same today. 

Behind the leading trio, positions remained unchanged. Dani Sordo was keen to hold station, he and team-mate Hayden Paddon needing to score points for Hyundai following Thierry’s Neuville’s crash on Saturdaynight. Craig Breen once again finished the highest of the Citroën drivers in fifth ahead of Elfyn Evans in the DMack shod Fiesta WRC. Paddon, seventh, spent most of the day trying different settings on the i20 Coupe WRC and Stephane Lefebvre, in the older spec DS3 WRC, finished eighth.

The FIA WRC 2 Championship was won by Pontus Tidemand and Jonas Andersson in the Škoda Fabia R5. The Swedes finished ninth overall with nearly a minute in hand to the second-placed Fiesta R5 crew of Teemu Suninen and Mikko Markkula who also rounded off the overall top 10.

The FIA World Rally Championship contenders now head to Rally Mexico (9-12 March) for the first full gravel round of the season.  

Rally Sweden – Final Provisional Results (subject to scrutineering)