Rally Sweden: DAY1Toyota the early leader as Rally Sweden begins

Quotes:
Tom Fowler (Technical Director)

“It is nice to start with the two quickest times but we know that the real Rally Sweden begins tomorrow. The shakedown stage this morning was much more representative of the rally as a whole: it had some slower sections as well as some high speed. This meant it was worth making some setup changes on the cars, just to confirm a few things after our pre-event testing. All the cars were running at different times so we couldn’t read too much into the final order. We are satisfied that the performance is there. We have made improvements to the car since our win here last year, but we know that all the other teams will have done the same.”

Jari-Matti Latvala (Driver car 7)

“It is good to be among the quickest drivers on the first stage of the rally and I hope we can continue like this. The shakedown stage this morning was very representative of what is to come over the rest of the weekend. We were able to make some changes so that I can get the right feeling with the car. I love driving on snow and the conditions are great this year. I will of course try to fight for my fifth victory here but there are many other drivers who can win too: if you want to win this event you will need a perfect rally.”

Ott Tänak (Driver car 8)

“The Karlstad stage is always an enjoyable way to start this rally: there were a lot of fans and the stage itself was quite good fun. Shakedown this morning was good too. We need to see what the forecast is like for the rest of the rally, so we don’t yet know exactly what the best setup will be, but I think we have a good feeling in the car. We believe we can have another good result here after the great start we had in Monte Carlo. I’m looking forward to the proper Rally Sweden stages tomorrow.”

Esapekka Lappi (Driver car 9)

“The first stage went fine for us with no issues. Shakedown was pretty good. To begin with I had some understeer, but we made some changes in service and tried some different things, and I believe it should be good for the first proper stages tomorrow. I think I will enjoy this rally a lot. Big snow banks, frozen roads and the sun shining: this is the best feeling you can get with a rally car.”

What's next?

The first full day of the rally features seven stages, with much of the action taking place in Norway. The Hof Finnskog and Svullrya tests are run fully in Norway, while Röjden twice crosses the border, beginning and ending in Sweden. These three stages are run twice, either side of late morning service in Torsby. A stage next to the service park rounds out the day: this will also be used as the end-of-rally Power Stage.