Prince gives royal seal of approval to Rally Sweden

The royal rally fan, fourth in line to the Swedish throne, will attend Friday evening’s Umeå Sprint speed test which culminates in the 30,000-capacity Red Barn Arena within walking distance of the city centre.

Prince Carl Philip is a race winner in the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship and was a regular attendee at the opening Karlstad super special stage when the rally was based in Värmland. In 2020 he enjoyed a shakedown ride there alongside Sébastien Ogier.

The 2022 rally has moved 700km north to the Västerbotten region and the prince will attend the first of three special stages at the arena – which is styled as Umeå’s equivalent to the famous Colin’s Crest fan area in Vargåsen at the event’s former home.

The 5.53km sprint stage will be held in darkness on Friday evening. It will be followed by two longer tests on Saturday, the first shortly after midday and an evening repeat. The 1.5km arena section includes three jumps, sweeping hairpin bends and twists and turns.

There will be a range of additional entertainment. On Friday, Swedish artist Dotter will create a party atmosphere from the stage.

The Red Bull Show snowmobile freestyle trio of Marcus Ohlson, Rasmus Johansson, and Anders ‘Flanders’ Eriksson will display high-flying acrobatics on both days and Swedish artist Pidde P will perform twice on stage.

In between Saturday’s double WRC pass, great cars from the past will tackle the stage in the Rally Sweden Historic event, while big screens will allow fans to follow the action elsewhere via WRC+ All Live.

“Prince Carl Philip has a genuine interest in motoring and we are happy and proud that the prince will be present when Rally Sweden is decided in Umeå for the first time,” said Rally Sweden CEO Glenn Olsson.

“We’re taking the rally into the city again. This is a fantastic chance for the Umeå residents and all travellers to see the world’s best rally drivers up close.

“We have built a fast arena with three big jumps where the drivers can keep a high speed which means that we still keep the rally feeling as if it were out in the woods.”