Day two of Rally Sweden has passed. Craig Breen leads the rally after the day, but Ott Tänak is right behind.
SS2, BRATTBY 1
Stage two would see Craig Breen take his first stage win of the season, beating Ott Tänak by 3.8 seconds. Esapekka Lappi would place third on the stage, 1.6 seconds behind Tänak. Takamoto Katsuta would place fourth on the stage, 2.5 seconds behind Lappi. Thierry Neuville would round out the top five, finishing the stage 0.5 seconds behind Katsuta.
SS3, SARSJÖLIDEN 1
Stage three would see Kalle Rovanperä take his second stage win of the event, beating Esapekka Lappi by one second. Takamoto Katsuta would place third on the stage, 0.7 seconds behind Lappi. Ott Tänak would place fourth on the stage, 0.5 seconds behind Katsuta. Craig Breen would round out the top five, finishing the stage 0.6 seconds behind Tänak.
SS4, BOTSMARK 1
Stage four would see Takamoto Katsuta take the stage win, beating Kalle Rovanperä by 0.3 seconds. Ott Tänak would place third on the stage, 0.2 seconds behind Rovanperä. Craig Breen would place fourth on the stage, 0.2 seconds behind Tänak. Esapekka Lappi would round out the top five, finishing the stage 1.2 seconds behind Breen.
SS5, BRATTBY 2
Stage five would see Craig Breen take his second stage win of the event, beating Pierre-Louis Loubet by 7.8 seconds. Esapekka Lappi would place third on the stage 0.7 seconds behind Loubet. Ott Tänak would place fourth on the stage, 1.3 seconds behind Lappi. Elfyn Evans would round out the top five, finishing the stage 0.3 seconds behind Tänak.
SS6, SARSJÖLIDEN 2
Stage six would see Craig Breen win another stage, beating Elfyn Evans by 2.6 seconds. Ott Tänak would place third on the stage, 0.2 seconds behind Evans. Kalle Rovanperä would place fourth on the stage, 1.5 seconds behind Evans. Thierry Neuville would round out the top five, finishing the stage 1.5 seconds behind Rovanperä.
SS7, BOTSMARK 2
Stage seven would see Ott Tänak take his first stage win of the season, beating Esapekka Lappi by 0.9 seconds. Craig Breen would place third on the stage 3.2 seconds behind Lappi. Elfyn Evans would place fourth on the stage, 1.8 seconds behind Breen. Thierry Neuville would round out the top five, finishing the stage 1.5 seconds behind Evans.
SS8, UMEÅ SPRINT 2
Stage eight would see Kalle Rovanperä win the stage, beating Ott Tänak by 0.5 seconds. Esapekka Lappi would place third on the stage, 0.9 seconds behind Tänak. Thierry Neuville would place fourth on the stage, 1.1 seconds behind Lappi. Elfyn Evans would round out the top five, finishing the stage 0.4 seconds behind Neuville.
Katsuta Out
Takamoto Katsuta would retire at the end of SS6 due to a crash. Katsuta may choose to restart the rally on day three. Katsuta would be eighth heading into SS6, 10.7 seconds behind Pierre-Louis Loubet.
Breen’s Found Pace Fast
Craig Breen is competing in just his first WRC rally of the 2023 season, and he’s seemed to have found pace quickly. As Breen leads the rally into day three. With a gap of 2.6 seconds separating him and Ott Tänak.
Top Five Times After Rally Sweden Day Two
- C. Breen, 57:05.05
- O. Tänak 57:08.1 (+2.6)
- E. Lappi 57:16.7 (+11.2)
- E. Evans 57:32.0 (+26.5)
- K. Rovanperä 57:36.6 (+31.1)
My name is Joe Moore. I am a writer for Belly Up Hockey, Belly Up Racing, and Belly Up Sports. You can find me on Twitter.
