ERC
All-Finnish battle for Swedish ERC success after Vaher crash
The fight for FIA European Rally Championship glory in Sweden is set to go down to the wire with the top two drivers separated by 4.8sec ahead of the deciding loop of four stages.
Finn Teemu Suninen heads compatriot Mikko Heikkilä in an all-Pirelli-equipped battle for victory between the two Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 drivers.
Jaspar Vaher had been leading BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia by 9.7sec, only for a high-speed spin into trees on SS12 to leave the long-term pacesetter firmly out of the fight and promote Suninen and Heikkilä into the top two provisional podium positions.
"It's been a pretty good morning for us, I managed to do a good morning with good driving but the battle is super-tight and it will be important to go flat out," said Suninen.
Heikkilä, who like Suninen has yet to win in the ERC, said: "It's been really fun and the stages have been really but a couple of small errors I have had but in this kind of competition you always do something small. My plan was to catch Teemu but it seems we will have to do it in the afternoon."
After reaching the midday service halt in Karlstad, Vaher said: “It was almost a flat corner over the crest, I just lost the rear, nothing to do, the tyres were already so worn. The rear started sliding, I was full throttle but I couldn’t save it, it was into the woods and spun around. It’s tough, we did quite a perfect performance up until that point. All the team were doing such a great job to get us there but I just ruined the whole thing, it was clearly my mistake.”
Mārtiņš Sesks (Team MRF Tyres) is 1.2sec ahead of Hankook-equipped home hero Isak Reiersen in the chase for third place as 9.1sec splits GK Door Team Sweden drivers Calle Carlberg and Patrik Hallberg in fifth and sixth respectively.
Simone Tempestini, Fabrizio Zaldívar, Eyvind Brynildsen and Brandon Semenuk complete the top 10 followed by Michelin-supplied ERC champion Miko Marczyk, Joosep Ralf Nõgren, Tuukka Kauppinen, Jakub Matulka and Takumi Matsushita.
Ville Vatanen and Aatu Hakalehto continue to lead FIA ERC3 and FIA ERC4/FIA Junior ERC respectively.
BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia continues with SS13, Lövhöjden, from 13:02 local time. The event-deciding Ölme Power Stage is due to get under way at 17:05 ahead of the finish in Karlstad from 19:00.
For more information, stage times and live updates go to the new Live Centre by clicking HERE.
