 Uddeholm Swedish Rally 2002 preview.
Story by Andrew Frampton.
Following the exciting and controversial start to the season in Monte Carlo, the 2002 World Rally Championship moves to the snow covered asphalt of Sweden, where the Scandinavian drivers are expected to battle for the podium positions.
Citroen's young French sensation Sebastien Loeb took first position on the road in Monaco, but was relegated to second after an illegal tyre change netted him a two-minute time penalty. Loeb will be looking for a controversy-free event in Sweden, but a lack of mileage on snow reduces his chances of victory. More likely to challenge for the win is his team-mate, Thomas Radstrom, who is very experienced on what is his home event. He will be looking for a good result in Sweden, after his Xsara expired before the start of the first stage in Monte Carlo.
Victory in Monte Carlo was handed to Tommi Makinen in his first event for the Subaru team. The Finn is one of the favourites for victory in Sweden, having mastered his new machine following his pre-season season move from Mitsubishi. He will be looking to improve on his performance last season, when he crashed out of the event. Team-mate Petter Solberg showed his potential in Monte Carlo and will be hoping to rack up another points finish in Sweden.
In contrast to Makinen's performance, Richard Burns' first run in the Peugeot 206 was a near disaster, the Englishman claiming only eighth position. However, it did give the 2001 champion the chance to experiment with the settings in his new car, and points are not out of the question in Scandinavia. Monte Carlo was a difficult event for the French team; a mechanical problem cost Gilles Panizzi over two minutes in time penalties and he ended the event seventh. The Frenchman hands his works car over to the 2001 Swedish Rally winner Harri Rovanpera, who will be looking to repeat that feat in his first works appearance of the season. The team's only points from Monte Carlo came courtesy of Marcus Gronholm's fifth position, and the Finn should be in contention for points once again.
The Ford crews made an impressive start to the 2002 season in Monte Carlo, and are a good bet for a podium finish in Sweden. After a superb battle between Colin McRae and Marcus Gronholm, Spaniard Carlos Sainz took the final podium position in Monte Carlo, while McRae followed him home in fourth. After undoing his Monte Carlo jinx, McRae is rated the most likely non-Scandinavian driver to take victory in Sweden, although he did crash out of the event last year.
Monte Carlo was a disaster for the Hyundai team, but the Korean marque will be looking to score points in Sweden. Team-leader Freddy Loix injured his foot after clouting a bridge parapet, but is expected to drive in Sweden, while Armin Schwarz ended his Hyundai debut after spinning out on ice. Although neither driver has more than a handful of miles competitive experience, their pace on the opening stages was very impressive.
The Mitsubishi team is on a steep learning curve having signed two new drivers for the 2002 season. Scotland's Alister McRae and Frenchman Francois Delecour will be hoping to improve on their Monte Carlo showing which saw them battling outside of the point's positions.
The final works entrants are the Czech Skoda team, for whom Toni Gardemiester could compete in the top six positions if the roads have their customary snow, while Kenneth Eriksson and rally legend Stig Blomqvist will continue to learn their new cars.
At time of going "to press", after stage 10, the results are currently as follows:
- GRONHOLM - Peugeot
- ROVANPERA - Peugeot
- LOIX - Hyundai
- KANKKUNEN - Hyundai
- SAINZ - Ford
- ERIKSSON - Skoda
- BURNS - Peugeot
- A MCRAE - Mitsubishi
- C MCRAE - Ford
- LINDHOLM - Peugeot
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