2015 Rally Sweden


The 2015 Rally Sweden was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over four days between 12 and 15 February 2015. It marked the sixty-third running of the Rally Sweden, and was the second round of the 2015 World Rally Championship, WRC-2 and WRC-3 seasons.
Sébastien Ogier won the rally on the last stage to extend his lead in the drivers' championship. The rally started with Pontus Tidemand, competing in a WRC-2 Ford Fiesta RRC, winning the Thursday night super special stage in Karlstad. Ogier took the lead on Friday's opening stage, with teammate Jari-Matti Latvala chasing him for the lead. Volkswagen's third driver, Andreas Mikkelsen gained the lead on the ninth stage, after Ogier and Latvala both hit snow banks, dropping to 4th and 23rd respectively. Mikkelsen kept the lead until Saturday's final stage, where Hyundai's Thierry Neuville took the lead after fitting new tyres for the stage; Mikkelsen and Ogier were both in contention however, at deficits of 1.5 and 9.6 seconds respectively. Mikkelsen regained the lead on Sunday's opening stage, and held a three-second lead over Ogier ahead of the final stage, Värmullsåsen, which was also the event's power stage, offering additional drivers' championship points.
Running in reverse order to their rally positions, Ogier bested Neuville's time for the stage – ultimately, the stage's fastest time – and just after he completed the stage, Mikkelsen hit a snow bank and lost 40 seconds to fall behind Neuville in the standings as well. Ott Tänak finished fourth to record his best WRC result since 2012, while Hayden Paddon recorded his best WRC finish – replacing the injured Dani Sordo – in fifth position. Next in the order was British duo Elfyn Evans and Kris Meeke, Martin Prokop finished eighth ahead of Yuriy protasov, who took his first WRC stage win, on the Kirkenær stage. Completing the championship points was Mads Østberg, who was in position for a podium spot, until he hit a snow bank on the eleventh stage. He also scored an extra point by finishing third on the power stage. After the last stage, Volkswagen Motorsport decided to retire Latvala's car – he had managed to recover up the order to 12th place – due to a rules loophole in relation to the following event, Rally México.

Entry list

No.DriverCo-driverEntrantCarCl.Eligibility
1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen MotorsportVolkswagen Polo R WRCRC1M
2 Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila Volkswagen MotorsportVolkswagen Polo R WRCRC1M
3 Kris Meeke Paul Nagle Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally TeamCitroën DS3 WRCRC1M
4 Mads Østberg Jonas Andersson Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally TeamCitroën DS3 WRCRC1M
5 Elfyn Evans Daniel Barritt M-Sport World Rally TeamFord Fiesta RS WRCRC1M
6 Ott Tänak Raigo Mõlder M-Sport World Rally TeamFord Fiesta RS WRCRC1M
7 Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai MotorsportHyundai i20 WRCRC1M
8 Hayden Paddon John Kennard Hyundai MotorsportHyundai i20 WRCRC1M
9 Andreas Mikkelsen Ola Fløene Volkswagen Motorsport IIVolkswagen Polo R WRCRC1T
14 Henning Solberg Ilka Minor Adapta Motorsport ASFord Fiesta RS WRCRC1
16 Robert Kubica Maciej Szczepaniak Robert KubicaFord Fiesta RS WRCRC1
17 Yuriy Protasov Pavlo Cherepin M-Sport World Rally TeamFord Fiesta RS WRCRC1
18 Michał Sołowow Maciej Baran Synthos Cersanit Rally TeamFord Fiesta RS WRCRC1
20 Kevin Abbring Sebastian Marshall Hyundai Motorsport NHyundai i20 WRCRC1T
21 Martin Prokop Jan Tománek Jipocar Czech National TeamFord Fiesta RS WRCRC1T
31 Yazeed Al-Rajhi Michael Orr Yazeed RacingFord Fiesta RRCRC2WRC-2
32 Stéphane Lefebvre Stéphane Prévot PH SportCitroën DS3 R5RC2
33 Max Rendina Mario Pizzuti Motorsport Italia s.r.l.Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution XRC2WRC-2
36 Fredrik Åhlin Morten Erik Abrahamsen Fredrik ÅhlinFord Fiesta R5RC2WRC-2
37 Lorenzo Bertelli Giovanni Bernacchini FWRT s.r.l.Ford Fiesta RS WRCRC1T
38 Anders Grøndal Roger Eilertsen Anders GrøndalCitroën DS3 R5RC2WRC-2
39 Pontus Tidemand Emil Axelsson Pontus TidemandFord Fiesta RRCRC2WRC-2
40 Jari Ketomaa Kaj Lindström Drive DMACKFord Fiesta R5RC2WRC-2
41 Valeriy Gorban Volodymyr Korsia Eurolamp World Rally TeamMini John Cooper Works S2000RC2WRC-2
42 Oleksiy Kikireshko Kuldar Sikk Eurolamp World Rally TeamMini John Cooper Works S2000RC2WRC-2
43 Radik Shaymiev Maxim Tsvetkov TAIF Rally TeamFord Fiesta R5RC2WRC-2
44 Jarosław Kołtun Ireneusz Pleskot C-RallyFord Fiesta R5RC2WRC-2
45 Gianluca Linari Nicola Arena Gianluca LinariSubaru Impreza WRX STiRC2WRC-2
53 Ole Christian Veiby Anders Jæger PrintsportCitroën DS3 R3TRC3WRC-3
71 Eyvind Brynildsen Anders Fredriksson Drive DMACKFord Fiesta RRCRC2WRC-2
72 Robin Friberg Stefan Gustavsson Robin FribergCitroën DS3 R5RC2
74 Frank Tore Larsen Torstein Eriksen Frank Tore LarsenFord Fiesta R5RC2
75 Thomas Thunström Jörgen Lindahl Thomas ThunströmCitroën DS3 R5RC2

Results

Event standings

Special stages

DayStage
number
Stage nameLengthStage winner
TeamTimeRally leader
12 FebSS1 Karlstad Super-Special 11.90 km Pontus Tidemand
Emil Axelsson
39 Pontus Tidemand1:32.174.27 km/h Pontus Tidemand
Emil Axelsson
13 FebSS2 Torsby 114.76 km Sébastien Ogier
Julien Ingrassia
1 Volkswagen Motorsport8:36.6102.86 km/h Sébastien Ogier
Julien Ingrassia
13 FebSS3
Notes:
The "Power stage" was the second running of the Värmullsåsen stage at the end of the rally, which awarded championship points to the fastest three drivers through the stage.
DriverCarTime
1 Sébastien OgierVolkswagen Polo R WRC8:05.60.03
2 Thierry NeuvilleHyundai i20 WRC8:10.4+4.82
3 Mads ØstbergCitroën DS3 WRC8:15.5+9.91

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