Weather forces Sweden route revamp
Rising temperatures and rain force stage changes
Rally Sweden: News in Brief
A look at some of the latest news ahead of the second round of the FIA World Rally Championship in Sweden.
WRC+ live coverage: Weather-enforced route changes mean the schedule of live stages broadcast on WRC+ has been modified.
The cancellation of Thursday night’s opening super special stage in Karlstad means there will now be a double dose of live coverage from the Vargåsen stage on Saturday, featuring the famous Colin’s Crest jump. The morning programme begins at 10.00 CET with the afternoon action starting at 13.30 CET. Sunday’s live coverage of the Värmullsåsen Power Stage will begin as scheduled at 12.00 CET.
More information is available here.
Opening ceremony: Despite the cancellation of Thursday’s super special stage, the opening ceremony and Red Bull Show will continue as planned at Karlstad trotting track. The fun begins at 18.15 CET and includes a driver autograph session, interviews with the drivers, a hair-raising display of snowmobiles and motorcycles from the Red Bull team and two performances from Swedish band Farbror Flask.
Kubica withdraws: Robert Kubica has withdrawn his entry but co-driver Maciej Szczepaniak will still be in action this weekend. The Pole will partner fellow countryman Hubert Ptaszek in a Skoda Fabia R5 in the WRC 2 category. The partnership will also continue at the next round, Rally Guanajuato Mexico (3 - 6 March).
Sweden’s spikes: Figures from Volkswagen Motorsport indicate that the 384 studs fitted to Michelin’s winter tyres offer more grip on ice and snow than gravel tyres do on a normal loose surface road. In Argentina it takes an average 124.87 metres to accelerate from 0-100kph, while in Sweden this figure is just 107.32 metres.
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