From WRC.com
Sébastien Ogier claimed a thrilling last-gasp victory at Rally Sweden on Sunday after teammate Andreas Mikkelsen spun away a maiden WRC victory almost within sight of the finish. Just 4.6sec covered Ogier, Mikkelsen and Hyundai's Thierry Neuville heading to the final live TV Power Stage. Interim times showed Mikkelsen remained on target to win as he entered the final section of the stage, but his Volkswagen Polo R touched a bank and was dragged into deep snow.
Ogier was already at the finish line and punched the air as news of Mikkelsen’s mistake was relayed to him, the Frenchman beating Neuville by 6.4sec. “This was one of the most exciting WRC events,” he said. “It’s a crazy win because I had to push flat out from the beginning of the rally to the end.” An emotional Mikkelsen recovered to take third. “We gave it all in the last stage,” he said. “But there was a bank full of snow and we were stuck. We tried and hopefully we’ll get more luck next time.” Neuville led going into the final day but a faulty intercom and a brush with a snow bank earlier this morning allowed Ogier through, and the consistent Belgian was happy with second after the final stage showdown. Results – Rally Sweden 1. S. Ogier (VW Polo R WRC) 2. T. Neuville (Hyundai i20 WRC) + 6.4s 3. A. Mikkelsen (VW Polo R WRC) + 39.8s 4. O. Tanak (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) + 2min26s 5. H. Paddon (Hyundai i20 WRC) + 3min31.5s (...)
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