Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! So said Frank Sinatra in his 1950 hit song, as did I when I took my one and only trip to Rally Sweden in 2020.
Unfortunately for me, that rally ended up being one of the driest in the rally’s history.
There was a small layer of snow on some of the stages on days one and two, but for the most part, it was a gravel rally on studded tyres. Then, on the Sunday, it rained, and rained, and rained.
As a result, the rally has now moved north from its traditional home in the Värmland region to a new base in Umeå.
Considered the capital of northern Sweden, Umeå is only around 400 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, and a 600-kilometre journey north from the capital city Stockholm.
It’s a move that should provide a higher guarantee of the winter conditions that make the rally so popular – those conditions that are exactly why I spent my hard-earned to travel to the rally two years ago.
But enough about me.
Some of the stages in the Umeå area have been used in the Swedish Rally Championship before, but they will all be new to the top WRC drivers fronting up this weekend.
The recent form guide is only useful to a point, too. The rally wasn’t held in 2021 because of the pandemic, and 2020’s results should only be taken with a grain of salt …. or should that be snow?
Similarly, the results from last month’s Monte Carlo Rally are only a guide. The top two placegetters, Sebastiens Loeb and Ogier, won’t be in Sweden, leaving third placed Craig Breen as the top finisher to compete in the snow.
It’s Monte Carlo Rally Power Stage winner, Kalle Rovanpera, who’ll be the first car on the road as the current championship leader, however.
The Toyota gun is my tip for the world title this year, and in conditions that he loves and that are similar to his native Finland, he will be a solid bet to win.
As will Elfyn Evans, who won in Sweden in 2020 and should have been leading the championship now, had it not been for a silly spin that cost him any hope of a good result in Monte.
M-Sport Ford’s Breen has finished second in Sweden before and should continue his rapid rise as the team’s number one driver, while the Brit, Gus Greensmith, ran on snow in a Rally2 car last weekend and will be high on confidence.
It’s hard to know what to expect of Hyundai though, its Rally1 car being largely uncompetitive and unreliable on its debut.
Both Ott Tanak and Thierry Neuville are former Rally Sweden winners, but it remains to be seen if the Korean team have made enough progress with the car in the month since its disappointing debut.
As the rally approaches, the weather forecast is looking favourable. While there isn’t snow in the forecast, the temperatures will be below freezing overnight, ensuring that the road conditions should be just about ideal.
If you’re Kalle Rovanpera and opening the road on day one, that lack of fresh snow could be everything he’s been hoping for.
Rally Sweden at a glance:
-Rally Sweden begins with its longest day, with Friday’s running consisting of two loops of Kroksjö (14.98km), Kamsjön (27.81km) and Sävar (17.28km) plus a single pass of Umeå Sprint (5.53km), totalling 125.72km
-Saturday’s itinerary contains six stages and sees the crews twice tackle Brattby (10.49km), Långed (19.49km) and Umeå (11.17km)
-Sunday features two tests each of Vindeln (14.19km) and Sarsjöliden (14.23km). The second pass of the latter will be the rally’s Power Stage.
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