With snow-packed roads ahead, WRC’s only winter rally kicks off with a strong showing from Hyundai’s lead driver.
The World Rally Championship’s (WRC) frozen battleground is set, and Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville wasted no time asserting his dominance in Thursday’s shakedown for Rally Sweden.
On the only fully snow and ice-covered event of the season, the defending world champion clocked a blistering fourth run, topping the timesheets by 1.4 seconds over M-Sport’s part-time entry, Mārtiņš Sesks. Ott Tänak, Neuville’s teammate, rounded out the top three, finishing just 0.2s further back despite only completing two runs.
With Hyundai debuting an updated i20 N, the early signs are promising—but Neuville remained cautious about reading too much into shakedown results.
“It’s not so representative for what will be the rally we like,” Neuville explained.
“But it’s good to get at least the feeling a bit again with the car and the tires. The grip was much higher than expected, to be honest. Not sure it will be like this in the stages, but we’re going to find out.”
Can Hyundai’s i20 N Update Deliver a Rally Sweden Victory?
Hyundai’s new aerodynamic tweaks are expected to enhance high-speed stability, a crucial advantage on Sweden’s fast-flowing ice roads. Tänak, who secured the 2023 Sweden win for M-Sport, was reserved about the updates but hopeful for a performance boost.
“We need to hope it [the update] works,” Tänak said with a smile. “Obviously, the ice is breaking up quite quickly [here] but it’s still a lot of fun.”
Elfyn Evans to Open the Roads as Toyota Faces Tough Start
With Monte Carlo Rally winner Sébastien Ogier absent, Toyota’s Elfyn Evans assumes the de facto championship lead, meaning he’ll clear the way on Friday’s opening leg—typically a disadvantage on fresh snow.
However, Evans remains optimistic, suggesting that firmer ice conditions could lessen the traditional penalty of running first on the road.
“We know what it means historically, but maybe this year the conditions favor us a bit,” Evans said. “It’s a bit more of an ice base, so the penalty of running first should be less. But of course, we have to wait and see how it plays out.”
Evans was 2.2s off Neuville’s pace, tying with Adrien Fourmaux, who returns to Rally Sweden with Hyundai after claiming his first-ever Rally1 podium here in 2024.
Kalle Rovanperä Ready for the Real Action
Toyota’s two-time world champion Kalle Rovanperä, a proven specialist on snow, finished sixth in shakedown, another 0.6s back from Evans and Fourmaux.
“Normally, it’s a really cool rally,” Rovanperä said. “This year, the conditions on the stages look really nice, so I’m sure we are going to enjoy it a lot.”
Dark Horses and Rising Stars Look to Make an Impact
M-Sport’s Josh McErlean impressed with a seventh-place finish, edging out Toyota’s Sami Pajari and Takamoto Katsuta—both well-versed in snow driving.
“It’s something that I’m quite used to, like back in the days in Finland in national championships,” Pajari noted. “This rally is all about pure performance—not taking care of tires or the car too much. You can just enjoy these cars properly.”
M-Sport’s Grégoire Munster rounded out the Rally1 field in 10th, with Toyota’s Pajari and Katsuta slotting into eighth and ninth, respectively.
Local Rally2 Stars Shine in Shakedown
The Rally2 battle saw Pontus Tidemand (Škoda) and Oliver Solberg (Toyota) trading top times, before Ford’s Romet Jürgenson split them late on, the three separated by just 0.3s.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Arctic Rally winner Tuukka Kauppinen (Toyota) showed promise, finishing just 0.8s behind the leaders in fifth.
What’s Next?
With snow-covered Swedish forests ready to test the world’s best, Rally Sweden promises to be one of the most thrilling rounds of the 2025 WRC season.
Can Neuville convert his early dominance into a full rally win? Will Hyundai’s upgrades be enough to fend off Toyota and M-Sport’s challengers? And how will Evans handle the challenge of opening the roads?
The battle for WRC supremacy in the ice and snow begins now.
