From WRC.com
Thierry Neuville delivered a masterful drive through Saturday's final speed test to snatch a slender lead at Rally Sweden. Armed with new spiked snow tires on the front of his Hyundai i20, he blitzed rivals Andreas Mikkelsen and Sébastien Ogier to turn a 7.3sec deficit into a 1.5sec advantage with one day remaining in this second round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Daylong leader Mikkelsen held second in a Volkswagen Polo R and team-mate Ogier was just 8.1sec further back in third. “That was one of the best stages I’ve ever driven,” said Neuville. “I had a big, big push. The new tires were probably worth three or four seconds and I had a good feeling in the car, it’s so much fun. It’ll be hard tomorrow with three tricky stages, but I’m not going to slow down.”
Neuville was more than 30sec adrift of Mikkelsen after three of the day’s eight snow-covered special stages near Hagfors. But the Norwegian, who admitted to feeling the pressure of chasing a maiden WRC win, gave away 20sec after touching a snow bank and spinning. Conditions favoured Neuville this afternoon as the early starters cleared slush off the driving line, and neither road opener Ogier nor Mikkelsen could hold the Belgian at bay as his clever tire strategy paid dividends. Sunday’s final leg covers three stages and 46.74km, with the final live TV Power Stage offering bonus points to the fastest three drivers. Standings – Rally Sweden 1. T. Neuville (Hyundai i20 WRC) 2. A. Mikkelsen (VW Polo R WRC) +1.5s 3. S. Ogier (VW Polo R WRC) + 9.6s 4. M. Ostberg (Citroën DS3 WRC) + 53.4s 5. O. Tanak (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) + 1min29.2s (...)
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