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. Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Cl. Eligibility 1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen Polo R WRC RC1 M 2 Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen Polo R WRC RC1 M 3 Kris Meeke Paul Nagle Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team Citroën DS3 WRC RC1 M 4 Mads Østberg Jonas Andersson Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team Citroën DS3 WRC RC1 M 5 Elfyn Evans Daniel Barritt M-Sport World Rally Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC RC1 M 6 Ott Tänak Raigo Mõlder M-Sport World Rally Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC RC1 M 7 Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 WRC RC1 M 8 Hayden Paddon John Kennard Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 WRC RC1 M 9 Andreas Mikkelsen Ola Fløene Volkswagen Motorsport II Volkswagen Polo R WRC RC1 T 14 Henning Solberg Ilka Minor Adapta Motorsport AS Ford Fiesta RS WRC RC1 16 Robert Kubica Maciej Szczepaniak Robert Kubica Ford Fiesta RS WRC RC1 17 Yuriy Protasov Pavlo Cherepin M-Sport World Rally Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC RC1 18 Michał Sołowow Maciej Baran Synthos Cersanit Rally Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC RC1 20 Kevin Abbring Sebastian Marshall Hyundai Motorsport N Hyundai i20 WRC RC1 T 21 Martin Prokop Jan Tománek Jipocar Czech National Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC RC1 T 31 Yazeed Al-Rajhi Michael Orr Yazeed Racing Ford Fiesta RRC RC2 WRC-2 32 Stéphane Lefebvre Stéphane Prévot PH Sport Citroën DS3 R5 RC2 33 Max Rendina Mario Pizzuti Motorsport Italia s.r.l. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X RC2 WRC-2 36 Fredrik Åhlin Morten Erik Abrahamsen Fredrik Åhlin Ford Fiesta R5 RC2 WRC-2 37 Lorenzo Bertelli Giovanni Bernacchini FWRT s.r.l. Ford Fiesta RS WRC RC1 T 38 Anders Grøndal Roger Eilertsen Anders Grøndal Citroën DS3 R5 RC2 WRC-2 39 Pontus Tidemand Emil Axelsson Pontus Tidemand Ford Fiesta RRC RC2 WRC-2 40 Jari Ketomaa Kaj Lindström Drive DMACK Ford Fiesta R5 RC2 WRC-2 41 Valeriy Gorban Volodymyr Korsia Eurolamp World Rally Team Mini John Cooper Works S2000 RC2 WRC-2 42 Oleksiy Kikireshko Kuldar Sikk Eurolamp World Rally Team Mini John Cooper Works S2000 RC2 WRC-2 43 Radik Shaymiev Maxim Tsvetkov TAIF Rally Team Ford Fiesta R5 RC2 WRC-2 44 Jarosław Kołtun Ireneusz Pleskot C-Rally Ford Fiesta R5 RC2 WRC-2 45 Gianluca Linari Nicola Arena Gianluca Linari Subaru Impreza WRX STi RC2 WRC-2 53 Ole Christian Veiby Anders Jæger Printsport Citroën DS3 R3T RC3 WRC-3 71 Eyvind Brynildsen Anders Fredriksson Drive DMACK Ford Fiesta RRC RC2 WRC-2 72 Robin Friberg Stefan Gustavsson Robin Friberg Citroën DS3 R5 RC2 74 Frank Tore Larsen Torstein Eriksen Frank Tore Larsen Ford Fiesta R5 RC2 75 Thomas Thunström Jörgen Lindahl Thomas Thunström Citroën DS3 R5 RC2
Results
Event standings Driver Co-driver Team Car Class Time Points Overall classification 1 1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen Polo R WRC WRC 2:55:30.5 0.0 2 7 Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 WRC WRC 2:55:36.9 +6.4 3 9 Andreas Mikkelsen Ola Fløene Volkswagen Motorsport II Volkswagen Polo R WRC WRC 2:56:10.3 +39.8 15 4 6 Ott Tänak Raigo Mőlder M-Sport World Rally Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC WRC 2:57:56.5 +2:26.0 12 5 8 Hayden Paddon John Kennard Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 WRC WRC 2:59:02.0 +3:31.5 10 6 5 Elfyn Evans Daniel Barritt M-Sport World Rally Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC WRC 2:59:23.5 +3:53.0 8 7 3 Kris Meeke Paul Nagle Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT Citroën DS3 WRC WRC 2:59:36.3 +4:05.8 6 8 21 Martin Prokop Jan Tománek Jipocar Czech National Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC WRC 2:59:56.5 +4:26.0 4 9 17 Yuriy Protasov Pavlo Cherepin M-Sport World Rally Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC WRC 3:01:02.7 +5:32.2 2 10 4 Mads Østberg Jonas Andersson Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT Citroën DS3 WRC WRC 3:02:21.4 +6:50.9 WRC-2 standings 1 (13.) 40 Jari Ketomaa Kaj Lindström Drive DMACK Ford Fiesta R5 WRC-2 3:05:07.4 0.0 25 2 (14.) 71 Eyvind Brynildsen Anders Fredriksson Drive DMACK Ford Fiesta RRC WRC-2 3:04:40.0 +32.6 18 3 (15.) 41 Valeriy Gorban Volodymyr Korsia Eurolamp World Rally Team Mini John Cooper Works S2000 WRC-2 3:08:34.8 +3:27.4 15 4 (16.) 31 Yazeed Al-Rajhi Michael Orr Yazeed Racing Ford Fiesta RRC WRC-2 3:08:47.6 +2:40.2 12 5 (17.) 39 Pontus Tidemand Emil Axelsson Pontus Tidemand Ford Fiesta RRC WRC-2 3:08:50.9 +3:43.5 10 6 (18.) 36 Fredrik Åhlin Morten Erik Abrahamsen Fredrik Åhlin Ford Fiesta R5 WRC-2 3:09:42.0 +4:34.6 8 7 (23.) 44 Jaroslaw Koltun Ireneusz Pleskot C-Rally Ford Fiesta R5 WRC-2 3:17:26.5 +12:19.1 6 8 (24.) 42 Oleksiy Kikireshko Kuldar Sikk Eurolamp World Rally Team Mini John Cooper Works S2000 WRC-2 3:19:33.1 +14:25.7 4 9 (25.) 81 Simone Tempestini Matteo Chiarcossi Napoca Rally Academy Subaru Impreza WRX STi WRC-2 3:23:58.0 +18:50.6 2 10 (26.) 38 Anders Grøndal Roger Eilertsen Anders Grøndal Citroën DS3 R5 WRC-2 3:26:54.4 +21:47.0 1 WRC-3 standings 1 (21.) 53 Ole Christian Veiby Anders Jæger Printsport Citroën DS3 R3T WRC-3 3:16:03.5 0.0 25
Special stages
Day Stagenumber Stage name Length Stage winner Team Time Rally leader 12 Feb SS1 Karlstad Super-Special 1 1.90 km Pontus Tidemand Emil Axelsson 39 Pontus Tidemand 1:32.1 74.27 km/h Pontus Tidemand Emil Axelsson 13 Feb SS2 Torsby 1 14.76 km Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia 1 Volkswagen Motorsport 8:36.6 102.86 km/h Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia SS3 Röjden 1 18.73 km Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia 1 Volkswagen Motorsport 9:59.4 112.49 km/h SS4 Finnskogen 1 20.76 km Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila 2 Volkswagen Motorsport 11:03.1 112.71 km/h SS5 Kirkenær 1 7.07 km Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia 1 Volkswagen Motorsport 5:26.7 77.91 km/h SS6 Kirkenær 2 7.07 km Yuriy Protasov Pavlo Cherepin 17 M-Sport World Rally Team 5:34.4 76.11 km/h SS7 Finnskogen 2 20.76 km Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila 2 Volkswagen Motorsport 11:04.3 112.50 km/h SS8 Röjden 2 18.73 km Andreas Mikkelsen Ola Fløene 9 Volkswagen Motorsport II 10:01.1 112.17 km/h SS9 Torsby 2 14.76 km Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul 7 Hyundai Motorsport 8:40.4 102.11 km/h Andreas Mikkelsen Ola Fløene SS10 Karlstad Super-Special 2 1.90 km Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia 1 Volkswagen Motorsport 1:34.5 72.38 km/h 15 Feb SS11 Fredriksberg 1 18.15 km Andreas Mikkelsen Ola Fløene 9 Volkswagen Motorsport II 10:33.9 103.08 km/h SS12 Rämmen 1 22.76 km Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia 1 Volkswagen Motorsport 11:36.5 117.64 km/h SS13 Hagfors Sprint 1 1.87 km Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia 1 Volkswagen Motorsport 1:51.2 60.54 km/h SS14 Vargåsen 1 24.63 km Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia 1 Volkswagen Motorsport 13:34.1 108.92 km/h SS15 Fredriksberg 2 18.15 km Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul 7 Hyundai Motorsport 10:27.6 104.11 km/h SS16 Rämmen 2 22.76 km Kris Meeke Paul Nagle 3 Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team 11:38.5 117.30 km/h SS17 Hagfors Sprint 1 1.87 km Robert Kubica Maciek Szczepaniak 16 Robert Kubica 1:57.1 57.49 km/h SS18 Vargåsen 2 24.63 km Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul 7 Hyundai Motorsport 13:24.4 110.23 km/h Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul 15 Feb SS19 Lesjöfors 15.00 km Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia 1 Volkswagen Motorsport 9:05.8 98.94 km/h Andreas Mikkelsen Ola Fløene SS20 Värmullsåsen 1 15.87 km Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila 2 Volkswagen Motorsport 8:14.1 115.63 km/h SS21 Värmullsåsen 2 (Power stage) 15.87 km Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia 1 Volkswagen Motorsport 8:05.6 117.65 km/h Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Notes: — The Röjden stage started in Sweden and finished in Norway after crossing the Sweden-Norway border.
Power Stage 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 Ogier Volkswagen Polo R WRC 8:05.6 0.0 3 2 Thierry Neuville Hyundai i20 WRC 8:10.4 +4.8 2 3 Mads Østberg Citroën DS3 WRC 8:15.5 +9.9 1
References
External links
Results at eWRC.com