03 February 2002
SummaryWith mild temperatures overnight the thaw in Sweden continued, and for the third day in succession cars left Karlstad's Parc Ferme in weather conditions more typically Welsh than Scandinavian.
A lack of snow and ice on the stages forced organisers to cancel the second test of the day at Rammen (SS13) and although all the others did run, crews spent much of the day driving on gravel rather than snow.
2000 World Rally Champion Marcus Gronholm held his position to win the rally while his Peugeot colleague Harri Rovanpera was second. Carlos Sainz kept a hard-charging Richard Burns behind him and secured the final podium position for Ford.
The result netted a maximum 16 points for Peugeot and moved the team to the top-spot in the Manufacturers' Championship. In the Drivers' series Marcus Gronholm leads on 12 points, two ahead of 555 Subaru World Rally Team driver Tommi Makinen in second.
The first round of the FIA Cup for Drivers of Production Cars was won by Kristian Sohlberg of Finland. Production Cup driver Toshihiro Arai, who will also be driving for the 555 Subaru World Rally Team on selected events this season, was a close second and collected six points.
Stage Reports
SS12 08:15 Sagen 2 ((14.17km))
Peugeot's Richard Burns was quickest through the first test of the day, he beat his teammate Marcus Gronholm and ended his run of five consecutive stage wins. Richard's time was nine seconds quicker that that of Freddy Loix, and the British driver moved ahead of the limping Belgian to take fourth overall. Carlos Sainz was the only non-Peugeot in the top four - he held third, 25 seconds ahead of Burns.
Fastest Time : Burns (Peugeot) 7:20.2
SS13 09:10 Rammen 2 ((23.16km))Rally organisers cancelled this 23kms stage due to the bad road conditions.
Fastest Time : Stage Cancelled Stage Cancelled
SS14 10:45 Vargasen ((32.43km))
A bad stage for the works Hyundai team. First the Accent WRC of Armin Schwarz stopped on the way to the start with a terminal transmission problem - he retired from 22nd place. Then 7kms into the stage Freddy Loix retired when the suspension on his car broke. This marked the end of a painful event for the hobbling Belgian, who was in in fifth place despite driving with a broken left ankle. Marcus Gronholm was third and Rovanpera fifth - and it looked like the top two places were settled with neither driver prepared to take too many risks so close to the finish. Richard Burns however was still on a charge. He won the stage and moved slightly closer to third placed Carlos Sainz. An all-Peugeot podium was a possibility.
Fastest Time : Burns (Peugeot) 17:50.1
SS15 11:50 Torntorp 2 ((19.21km))
With the possibility of catching his brother Alister in 7th place, and the chance to take two manufacturer's points rather than one, Colin McRae pushed hard on the penultimate stage. He was quickest and left himself a target of 11 seconds for the final test. Burns was on form too, he was second through the stage and closed the gap on Sainz from 24 to 12 seconds. Gronholm and Rovanpera looked settled in first and second respectively, but Burns had just one more stage left to overhaul Sainz and make it an all Peugeot podium.
Fastest Time : C.McRae (Ford) 9:55.7
SS16 13:40 Hagfors 2002 ((41.09km))
Gronholm and Rovanpera cruised the final stage to clinch first and second places on the rally. Burns won the stage, but it wasn't enough to catch Sainz who held on to third. Colin McRae tried hard to catch his younger brother Alister, but a spin cost him 10 seconds and in the end he lost out by 0.3 of a second. There was disaster for Kenneth Eriksson - the engine in his Skoda overheated and he retired 7kms from the finish line. After the stage there were further changes to the top-ten when Ford driver Janne Tuohino checked out of service 10 minutes late. This had the effect of dropping him from fifth to seventh and moved Alister and Colin McRae into better points positions.
Fastest Time : Burns (Peugeot) 19:45.2
