World Rally Championship’s Rally Sweden saw quite the eventful result as 3 of the top teams battled for a close finish. Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia of the French Volkswagon team edged out
Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul and teammates Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene in the final stretch of the event which resulted in the closest three way fight in WRC (World Rally Championship ) history.
The excitement was intense as the lead swung back and forth approaching the final segment of the event, eventually resulting with the three contenders being separated by a mere 4.6 seconds for the final leg!
The final results came all the way down to the final Power Stage, which represents the last 15.84 kilometers of the event. The game changer occurrence came only a few hundred meters from the finish: Sébastien Ogier claimed a win for his team on the final special stage, and by doing so, secured a victory for Volkswagen. Yet it was Andreas Mikkelsen who led the Rally Sweden for the final segment, with a slim lead of only 2.7 seconds with a mere 5.37k of rally left.
Yet fortunes turned for Mikkelsen, when the team spun after a slight skid resulting in missing out on any chance of victory for the duo of
Mikkelsen/Fløene. Fortunately the two were able to get back on track in only 40 seconds; successfully saving a podium finish of third place.
Sébastien Ogier was the events final victor, which marked WRC win #26 for the accomplished Frenchmen. The win also served to place him on par with WRC legend Carlos Sainz as the two are now tied for third on the all time WRC wins list.
Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul and teammates Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene in the final stretch of the event which resulted in the closest three way fight in WRC (World Rally Championship ) history.
The excitement was intense as the lead swung back and forth approaching the final segment of the event, eventually resulting with the three contenders being separated by a mere 4.6 seconds for the final leg!
The final results came all the way down to the final Power Stage, which represents the last 15.84 kilometers of the event. The game changer occurrence came only a few hundred meters from the finish: Sébastien Ogier claimed a win for his team on the final special stage, and by doing so, secured a victory for Volkswagen. Yet it was Andreas Mikkelsen who led the Rally Sweden for the final segment, with a slim lead of only 2.7 seconds with a mere 5.37k of rally left.
Yet fortunes turned for Mikkelsen, when the team spun after a slight skid resulting in missing out on any chance of victory for the duo of
Mikkelsen/Fløene. Fortunately the two were able to get back on track in only 40 seconds; successfully saving a podium finish of third place.
Sébastien Ogier was the events final victor, which marked WRC win #26 for the accomplished Frenchmen. The win also served to place him on par with WRC legend Carlos Sainz as the two are now tied for third on the all time WRC wins list.