Four-time world champion Sebastien Ogier had a dream start in the 2017 FIA World Rally Championship. The Frenchman won the season's opener Rallye Monte-Carlo on January 22 despite change in his team and car. It was also a shocking win in the French Alps for him after hardly any testing in M-Sport's new Ford Fiesta World Rally Car.
The second round of the season has been scheduled this weekend (February 9 to 12). Rally Sweden will be an ultimate testing playground for Ogier and all the other WRC drivers with 18 stages covering 331.74 km in a total route of 1415.18 km.
"We had a dream start to the season at Rallye Monte-Carlo, but we can't let that distract us. There is still a lot of work to do and Rally Sweden is a truly unique event," Ogier said. "We've not yet seen everyone's true potential and I'm expecting a very exciting and very close-fought Rally Sweden," Ogier said while explaining his anticipation for Rally Sweden.
Route
Rally Sweden is WRC's only pure winter encounter and it is a cross-border event which ventures deep into the frozen and remote forests of Sweden and Norway. For 2017, the rally hub has been moved further North to Torsby to increase the prospects of snow and ice-covered roads. Almost 60 per cent of the competitive distance is new, although plenty of classic speed tests remain.
Friday
Friday's longest leg runs mostly laid out in Norway. There are two identical loops of three stages, including the cross-border Rojden which starts and finishes in Sweden while the middle section in its neighboring country. The final Torsby test runs entirely in Sweden. Hof-Finnskog has never been used before while Svullrya is driven in the opposite direction.
Saturday
Saturday is packed with two loops of Swedish roads near Hagfors, with the more northerly Knon test which was last driven 14 years ago. The highlight in Vargasen is the famous Colin's Crest, named in memory of the late Colin McRae. A repeat of the Karlstad stage closes the action.
Sunday
In Sunday's finale, two passes over Likenas precede the live TV Power Stage at Torsby, which offers bonus points to the fastest five drivers.
