Formula Rally World Rally Championship 2001 Round 1 Rally Sweden Review

The Formula Rally World Championship Kicks Off Here And Now With Some Selected Rallies Around The World During The 2001 Campaign.
The First Round Of The Formula Rally World Championship Was Held In Snowy Sweden In Scandinavia, The Rally Is Based On The WRC Event, But It’s Seperated From The WRC As Only Super 1600, Formula 2, Group N, One Make And National Cars Were Allowed To Enter To Avoid Another Victory From A Driver Driving A World Rally Car, Cars With Front Wheel Drive And Normally Aspirated Engines Would Lead The Field Throughout The Season, The Series Will Also Allow Production Class Cars Like The Subaru Or Mitsubishi Enter With A Group N Class, It Will Also Allow Cars With Four Wheel Drive Or Rear Wheel
Drive To Enter The Championship As Well With WRC Cars With Normally Aspirated Engines, Loads Of People Turned Out At The Rally’s Base In Karlstad, Where There Are 146 Cars Entered In This Year’s Edition, As Well As 33 Group N Production Class Cars, One Make Cars And National Rally Cars Can Also Enter The Series By Rallies During The Year, One Make Cars Such As The Ford Puma, Toyota Yaris, Fiat Seicento, Honda Civic, Peugeot 306, Nissan Micra, Renault Clio, Renault Megane, Opel Tigra, Opel Corsa, VW Polo, Peugeot 106, Ford Ka Or Others Would All Be Allowed To Compete As Well, There Will Also Be One Make Championships During The Season For Some Rallies, National Cars Would Be Cars That Are Build On Any Regulation, These Cars Would Also Be Allowed To Compete At Rallies During The Season.
Reigning Imaginary British Rally Super 1600 Champion Niall McShea Will Enter With Number 1 On  His Car, And He’s Joined By 1999 Imaginary World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb At Citroen, While SEAT Have A New Secret Weapon, The All New Arosa Super 1600 Which Will Make It’s Debut At This Rally With 1996 BRC And 1999 IBRC Champion Gwyndaf Evans At The Wheel, Reigning British Rally Champion Marko Ipatti Was Back Driving In An Opel, But He’s Driving An Astra Kit Car Which Was Ran By Vauxhall When They Won The Manufactuers Title In The British Rally Championship Last Season, Is The 1999 2 Litre Champion Happy To Be Driving An Opel Kit Car Again?, Another Finn Jarmo Kytolehto Ran With The Hyundai Coupe For Rallycorp For Some Selected Events In International Rallies Including The British Rally Championship, And He Had A Little Troubles With It All Season, But Now He’s Back Driving In The General Motors Brand Opel, At The Wheel Of Their All New Tigra Super 1600, He’s Joined At Opel By Fellow Finn And Mitsubishi WRC Test Driver Lasse Lampi, 1998 British Rally Champion Martin Rowe Joins Ford At The Wheel Of Their Puma Super 1600, And He’s Joined By Frenchman Patrick Magaud, Volkswagen Have Also Given Their New Polo GTIs Their Rally Debut With Neil Simpson And British Group N Rally Champion David Higgins The Younger Brother Of 1997 British Rally Champion Mark, Toyota Will Enter A Pair Of Yaris’ With Safari Rally Legend Ian Duncan And Australian Rally Star Neal Bates, The Last Time That Toyota Ran A Yaris Was When Natalie Barratt Drove It In The Last 2 Rounds Of The 1999 Imaginary British Rally Championship, Will The Super 1600 Spec Car Prove Strongly Then The Formula 2 Spec?, Reigning Imaginary British Rally Champion Justin Dale Is Also Entered In The Formula Rally World Championship With Peugeot And He’s Joined By Touring Car Driver James Thompson Who Would Be The Favorite To Replace Him Driving The 106 Maxi When Dale Moves To Drive The New 206 S1600 In Next Year’s British Rally Championship, Guy Wilks And David Henderson Will Drive For Ford With Their New Fiesta S1600s, They Might Be Not Ready To Drive In Super 1600 Pumas Yet, Well Maybe A Little Bit Longer, Renault Have Once Again Entered 1997 IBRC Champion Robbie Head And Frenchman Serge Jordan, And Vauxhall Have Entered A Pair Of New Tigra Super 1600s With Reigning BTCC Kit Car Champion Neil Wearden And 1999 IBTCC Champion Jason Plato, There Are Some Famous Faces At This Year’s Rally, Colin McRae Has Also Been Entered In The Rally At The Wheel Of His Focus WRC Which Now Has A 2 Litre Engine From The Game Colin McRae 2.0 Which The Engine Is Taken From, Also Driving A WRC Car With A 2 Litre Normally Aspirated Engine Was Marcus Gronholm At The Wheel Of His Peugeot 206.
And So With The Peperations For The Rally Sorted Out, The Rally Begins On The Start Ramp In Karlstad With Niall McShea And Co Driver Michael Orr First Away In Their Saxo, The Rally Begins With A Super Special Stage, 146 Crews All Entered For The 1st Round Of The Formula Rally World Championship, Gwyndaf Evans Won The Super Special Stage As The Real Rally Begins In The Morning With Him The Early Leader.
With The Super Special Over, The Real Rally Begins, Day 1 Will Have 6 Stages With A Leg Total Of 148.51 km, Day 2 Will Also Have 6 Stages With A Leg Total Of 134.28 km, While The Final Day Will Have 5 Stages With Leg Total Of 97.52 km, The Stages Were Used For The WRC Event, While Some Were From The Colin McRae Rally Games, And Unlike The Real Rally, The Imaginary Edition Of Rally Sweden Will Have A Super Special At The Base In Karlstad.
First One To Be On The Road Was The All New SEAT Arosa Of Gwyndaf Evans And Co Driver Chris Patterson, They Started Really Strongly After Winning The Super Special, And The New Arosa Super 1600, Evans Setted Best Times On Stages 1 And 2, And Was In The Lead Of The Rally Heading Into Stage 3, Was It The Conditions?, Or Maybe The Driver Was A Little Rusty Going Into The Stage, The Car Sounds Good, Evans However Then Overshot A Junction And Pay For That Mistake, But It Was All Set To Change As Listen To The Sound Of The Car’s Engine Note, The Arosa’s Debut Was About To Be Short Lived, Evans Was Taking An Early Bath, The Hole Under The Car Had Damaged The Clutch And Causing Oil To Drip From It, He Would Compete Stage 3 Running Only On 3 Cylinders, With Spain Eliminated, It’s Now France Against Germany In The Manufactuers Still In The Rally, Niall McShea Was Now Leading The Rally As He Settled Into Stage 3 In His Citroen Saxo Ahead Of Marko Ipatti’s Opel Astra Kit Car, While Team Mate Sebastien Loeb Is Also Going Well On Stage 2, Despite Ditching A Wheel On A Snowbank On Stage 2, He Setted A Time On Stage 3 To Move Up To 3rd Place, The Reigning BRC Champion Marko Ipatti Is Proving Well On His Return Drive To A Formula 2 Car, Setting The Pace On Stage 1 And Again On Stage 2, To Be In 2nd Place, He And Co Driver Kari Kajala Enjoying A Good Trip Along The Snowy Swedish Stages, While Fellow Finn Jarmo Kytolehto Lost So Many Time On Stage 2 With An Overshoot And Then The Engine Cut Out On His New Tigra Super 1600, However, He Did Get Back Running But He Dropped To 7th Place, Even Worse It’s Radiator Was Full Of Snow After Going Into A Snow Bank And He Lost 4 Seconds And Dropped Another Place, Team Mates Lasse Lampi And His Co Driver Pentti Kuukkala Had Tyre Troubles On Stage 1, But Were Making Good Process To Move Up The Leaderboard Into 10th At The End Of Stage 3, Martin Rowe Was Running 4th With His Ford Puma On His First Rally Sweden With The Car While Team Mate Patrick Magaud, Was Running 11th Overall Despite A Little Trouble With The Snow Banks, David Higgins Was Running 5th In His Volkswagen Polo Ahead Of Justin Dale’s Peugeot, While Neil Simpson Was 8th At The End Of Stage 3, Ian Duncan Was Running In 9th Place On His Debut Drive In The Toyota Yaris S1600, But He Was Slowed Down On Stage 2 As He Caught Juha Kangas’s Limping Yaris After He Went In To A Snow Bank, But He Managed To Let The Kenyan Go Pass Him, Duncan’s Team Mate Neal Bates Who Had Been Proving Well, But Sadly He Was Forced To Retire Before Service With An Overheated Engine, James Thompson Was Running 11th On The Road And He Is On The Charge To Finish This Rally On His First Drive In A Peugeot Rally Car, Larry Cols Was Of Course One Of The Drivers Who Are Entering In The Junior Rally Championship At This Year’s World Rally Championship, The Belgian Is Of Course Driving The New Peugeot 206 S1600 In Which Justin Dale Will Be Driving In Next Year’s British Rally Championship. The 206 S1600 Isn’t The Only New Car At This Rally But Also The Fiat Punto S1600, Giandomenico Basso Was One Of The Drivers At The Wheel Alongside Austrian Driver Manfred Stohl, The Cars Were In The Middle Of The Top 30, This Was The Home Rally For Mats Andersson He Is Currently Running In 16th Place In His Proton, While Robbie Head In The First Of The Renaults Was 12th, And Neil Wearden In The New Vauxhall Tigra Was 14th, Service Before Stage 4 And Niall McShea Is Leading The Rally And Citroen Are In A Battle For Position With Opel And Peugeot Going Into The Next Stage, Justin Dale Had Moved Up To 4th Ahead Of Higgins After He Suffered Transmission Troubles, And Neil Simpson Had To Retire His Polo With Clutch Problems, McShea Had A 50 Second Mark Over Ipatti In 2nd Going Into 2 More Stages Left On Day 1, Can The Ulsterman Fend Off The Swede, Martin Rowe Was Now Up To 5th Following Simpson’s Exit, The Manxman Was Doing Very Well In The Puma, But There Was More Problems For Ian Duncan, He Caught Another Car That Hit Trouble, Andrea Aghini Had Also Been Caught As A Victim Of The Snowbanks, And Now His Corolla Was Limping To The End, He Eventually Let Duncan Pass Him, But There Will Be More Problems For Duncan, An Electrical Problem On The Next Service Saw Him Take A 5 Minute Time Penalty Which Slid Him Down The Order, Freddy Loix Was Going Well In His Toyota Corolla Liftback, And So To Was Didier Auriol In His Peugeot 306 Sedan Kit Car, Both Were Moving Up The Leaderboard, After Service McShea Setted More Times On Stages 5 And 6 To Become The Leader At The End Of Day 1, Ipatti However Isn’t Going To Give Up Without A Fight, Keeping The Other Saxo Of Loeb Behind He Was Setting Up To Catch McShea, While Justin Dale And Martin Rowe Dice Over 5th With Higgins Settling For 6th At The End Of Day 1, Sadly This Was The Last Time We See Robbie Head, He Retired With 1 Stage To Go With Head Gasket Failure, Jarmo Kytolehto Was Proving Times He Lost At The Start Of The Rally, He’s Currently In 7th Place, James Thompson Was Now In 8th With Larry Cols In 9th In His 206 S1600, And Didier Auriol In 10th.
Leaderboard After Day 1.
1 Niall McShea, Citroen Saxo S1600.
2 Marko Ipatti, Opel Astra Kit Car.
3 Sebastien Loeb, Citroen Saxo S1600.
4 Justin Dale, Peugeot 106 Maxi.
5 Martin Rowe, Ford Puma S1600.
6 David Higgins, Volkswagen Polo GTI.
7 Jarmo Kytolehto, Opel Tigra S1600.
8 James Thompson, Peugeot 106 Maxi.
9  Larry Cols, Peugeot 206 S1600.
10 Didier Auriol, Peugeot 306 Sedan Kit Car.
Day 2 And 6 More Stages Of Great Rallying From The Crews As McShea Leads Going Into The Leg, Marko Ipatti Is Still Trying To Overtake Him For The Lead On Stage 8, But He Tried To As McShea Setted Another Time On Stage 8, Sebastien Loeb Was On The Charge To Catch Ipatti, This Was Great Ways For The 1999 IWRC Champion Going Through Stages 7 And 8 But Still He Was 3rd, And There Was Another Change To The Leaderboard, Martin Rowe Had Overtaken Justin Dale For 4th After Setting Best Times On Stage 7, While Kytolehto Was Setting More Great Stage Times To Pass David Higgins To Take 6th, Sadly This Was The Last Time We See Larry Cols, His 206 Ground To A Hault With Engine Failure, Didier Auriol Wasn’t Far Behind Him, He Also Retired When His 306 Sedan Clipped A Snow Bank And Rolled, Julian Porter Was Held By A Slow Jani Pirttinen On Stage 7 As The Finn Suffered Clutch Problems, But Then Julian Runs Into A Snowbank And Gets Stuck, This Dropped Him Way Down The Leaderboard, He Got To The End Of The Stage But Loads Of Time Were Lost When His Engine Overheated, Pirttinen Also Completed The Stage But He Would Go No Further, Guy Woodcock Would Not Be So Lucky He Crashed Out On Stage 8, There Was More Chaos On The Stages, Andrew Pinker Was Running In The Top 40 In His Hyundai Coupe, When He Was Slowed By Michael Guest Who Also Got Stuck In The Snow, But Then Pinker Went Into A Snowbank And Damaging His Front Suspension, He Limped To The End But His Rally Was Over, Carlo Capone Was Another Won Who Joined The Retirement List, His Focus Kit Car Suffered A Broken Water Pump, While The Nissan Pairing Of David Llewellin And Nik Elsmore Had Also Hit Trouble, Llewellin Grounds To A Hault On Stage 8 With Gearbox Failure, While Elsmore Managed To Try And Avoid The Snowbanks In His Micra S1600 Also Went Out With A Damaged Radiator, Gert Blomqvist Wouldn’t Even Get Away With This, Crashing His Peugeot 106 Maxi Into The Trees And Heavily Damaging The Car, The Crew Managed To Get Away Unscaved, And There Was Also No Way That Mike Brown Was Going To Continue This Rally As He Retired His SEAT Ibiza Kit Car With Clutch Trouble At The End Of Stage 9, Same With Birger Gundersson, Who Limped Out Of Stage 9 With Engine Troubles, He Retired After That, Things Are Proving Strongly For Alistair Ginley In His BMW M3 Compact, He Is Running 20th Overall, Dave Wood In His FINA Backed BMW Had Hit Problems On The 1st Stage Of The Rally, But He’s Proving Really Well As He’s Now Running In 25th, Guy Anderson And  Dave Taylor Are 30th Overall In Their Mitsubishi Lancer Kit Car Just Places Ahead Of The Works Mitsubishis Who Are Down The Order, But The Biggest Surprise Was Martin Sansom In His Sanspeed Peugeot 106 Maxi, He Was Running 18th After Day 1 But He Suffered An Electrical Problem At The Start Of Day 2, And Then His Rally Came To An End When He Hit A Snowbank And Damaged His Suspension And Driveshaft,  Some Drivers Were Dropping Out Of The Rally On Day 2, But Some Were Still In It As Day 2 Comes To An End, Niall McShea Was Once Again The Overnight Leader After Stages 11 And 12, Going Into The Final Day, But Sadly David Higgins Retired From The Rally With Fuel Pressure Problems On His Volkswagen.
Leaderboard After Day 2.
1 Niall McShea, Citroen Saxo S1600.
2 Marko Ipatti, Opel Astra Kit Car.
3 Sebastien Loeb, Citroen Saxo S1600.
4 Martin Rowe, Ford Puma S1600.
5 Justin Dale, Peugeot 106 Maxi.
6 Jarmo Kytolehto, Opel Tigra S1600.
7 James Thompson, Peugeot 106 Maxi.
8 Giandomenico Basso, Fiat Punto S1600
9 Neil Wearden, Vauxhall Tigra S1600.
10 Freddy Loix, Toyota Corolla Liftback Kit Car.
The Final Day Of The First Round Of The Formula Rally World Championship Got Underway With No More Troubles As Niall McShea Settled On To The Stages As The Rally Leader, But 2nd Place Still Won’t Be Enough For Ipatti As He Was Trying Hard On Setting More Fastest Stage Times, Francois Delecour In His Ford Focus S1600 Was Doing Absolutely Well On Rally Sweden, He Is Of Course Driving For Ford In The WRC This Year, He Would Finish The Rally In 24th Place, While Colin McRae However Won’t Be Able To Finish The Rally As His Focus Ground To A Hault With A Low Fuel Tank Of Petrol Which Forced Him To Stop, While Marcus Gronholm Was Also Next, He Would Crash And Roll His 206 Out Of The Rally On Stage 16, Italian Moto GP Rider Valentino Rossi Was Doing Well On This Swedish Rally, At The Wheel Of The Peugeot 206 WRC With A 2 Litre Engine, He Would Finish 27th Overall With  Carlo Cassina Who Of Course Was Piero Liatti’s Co Driver Who Is Calling The Notes, Patrick Magaud Was Dropping Back To 23rd Place Thanks To Some Electrical Troubles In His Ford Puma And The Same With Lasse Lampi, Limping Out Of The Stages With 1 Wheel Drive In His Opel Tigra, Marko Ramanen Is Proving Well In His Honda Civic, He Is Co Driven By Welshman Ian Bevan, The Pair Got To The End Of The Event Safely In 28th Overall, Fellow Finn Juha Salo Is Also Doing Well On His First Drive In A Honda Civic After He Switched From An Integra, He Had A Great Rally But He Finished Down In 33rd Overall
Here Are The Main Finishers In The Top 20, Alistair Ginley Finished 20th In His BMW M3 Compact, Mikael Sundström Finished In 19th In His Familia Hatchback Kit Car, It Was Another Steady Drive For Johan Kressner In His Mazda 121 S1600,  Stephanie Simmonite Finished In 18th In Her Ford Escort, Lasse Lampi Would Finish In 17th Place Despite Limping With 1 Wheel Drive In His Tigra,  Kenneth Eriksson Finished In 16th In His Hyundai Accent Kit Car, Harri Rovanperä Finished 15th In His Peugeot 306 Sedan, Mats Andersson And Claire Mole Will Finish 14th In Their Proton Behind Manfred Stohl’s Fiat In 13th, Guy Wilks Finished 12th In His Ford Fiesta S1600 Behind Neal Bates Who Recovered From His Day 1 Issues But Will Have To Settle For 11th Place In His Toyota Yaris, Freddy Loix Finished In 10th In His Toyota Corolla Liftback Kit Car,  Neil Wearden Took 9th For Vauxhall, With Giandomenico Basso Taking 8th, James Thompson Finished In 7th, With Jarmo Kytolehto Taking 6th, Justin Dale Finished The Swedish Rally Disappointed In 5th Place Behind Martin Rowe Who Finished 4th, The Top 3 Was Completed With Sebastien Loeb Taking 3rd, Marko Ipatti Taking 2nd, And Victory Of Rally Sweden Would Go To Niall McShea Who Of  Course Opens Up His 2001 Formula Rally World Championship Campaign With A Victory, It Was Also The Perfect Start For Citroen At The Start Of The Year, They Now Lead The Manufactuers Championship.
Final Results.
1 Niall McShea, Citroen Saxo S1600.
2 Marko Ipatti, Opel Astra Kit Car.
3 Sebastien Loeb, Citroen Saxo S1600.
4 Martin Rowe, Ford Puma S1600.
5 Justin Dale, Peugeot 106 Maxi.
6 Jarmo Kytolehto, Opel Tigra S1600.
7 James Thompson, Peugeot 106 Maxi.
8 Giandomenico Basso, Fiat Punto S1600
9 Neil Wearden, Vauxhall Tigra S1600.
10 Freddy Loix, Toyota Corolla Liftback Kit Car.
Drivers Championship
1 Niall McShea, 10 Pts.
2 Marko Ipatti, 9 Pts.
3 Sebastien Loeb, 8 Pts.
4 Martin Rowe, 7 Pts.
5 Justin Dale, 6 Pts.
6 Jarmo Kytolehto, 5 Pts.
7 James Thompson, 4 Pts.
8 Giandomenico Basso, 3 Pts.
9 Neil Wearden, 2 Pts.
10 Freddy Loix 1 Pts.
Manufactuers Championship.
1 Citroen, 10 Pts.
2 Ford, 9 Pts.
3 Peugeot, 8 Pts.
4 Opel, 7 Pts.
5 Seat, 0 Pts.
6 Volkswagen, 0 Pts.
The Next Round Of The 2001 Formula Rally World Championship Will Be The Sasol Rally In South Africa.
In Addition To The Formula Rally World Championship, The Group N Championship Is The Secondary Championship In The Series, The Championship Will See A Variety Of Turbo Charged Four Wheel Drive Cars Entered During The Formula Rally World Championship Throughout The Season.
The 1st Round Of The Championship Was Rally Sweden, 33 Production Cars Entered For This Event, Starting With The Proton Pert Of Karamjit Singh, The Malaysian Was Champion In The Group N World Category Last Year, Gabriel Pozzo Was Next At The Wheel Of A Mitsubishi, And Team Mate Marcos Ligato, Gustavo Trelles And Uwe Nittel Are Also At The Wheel Of The Mitsubishi, Trelles Was Champion In The PWRC In The World Rally Championship 4 Times, While Nittel Is Back At The Wheel Of A Group N Car, Manfred Stohl Is Not Featured On This Entry Due To Him Competing This Rally In A Super 1600 FIAT Punto For The Season, Subaru Were Next Possum Bourne And Cody Crocker, And Finally There Was Danish Driver Kristian Poulsen At The Wheel Of The Mitsubishi Carisma GT.
The Rally Begins With 6 Special Stages On Day 1, And After Winning The Super Special In Karlstad, Gustavo Trelles Was The First One On The Road, The 4 Times PWRC Champion Had Set Fastest Times On Stages 3 And 4 Over Gabriel Pozzo, Pozzo Was 2nd On The Road, The Argentinian Was Pushing To The Limit On The Snowy Swedish Forests, Karamjit Singh Lost Time On Stages 1 And 2 After Steering Problems, The Malaysian Is Down In 5th Overall, Cody Crocker And Co Driver Greg Foletta Were Going Well In The Subaru Impreza, They Are Running 4th Overall, While The Dane Kristian Poulsen Had A Misfire In His Mitsubishi On The Karlstad Super Special, But He’s Climbing Up The Leaderboard And Is Currently Running 7th Overall, Possum Bourne Had Set A Fastest Time On Stage 1, However He Suffered A Suspension Problem A Stage Later, He Nursed The Car Through Stage 3, But The Car Was Repaired For 3 More Stages Of The Day, He And Co Driver Mark Stacey Were 6th Overall, Italian Domenico Caldarola And His Co Driver Nicola Arena Were Running 8th Overall In Their Mitsubishi Ahead Of Jeremy Easson Who Was The First Of The British Drivers Entered At This Rally In The Group N Championship, David Mann Had Swapped From A Proton To A Mitsubishi For This Event, And Is Running Well In 10th, The Suffolk Driver Is Also Going To Be Back At The Wheel Of A Proton During The 2001 Formula Rally World Championship, He’ll Drive A Satria Kit Car For Some Rounds In The Series, He And Co Driver Alun Cook Are Still In The Top 10 In A Car Which They Drove In UK Rally Rounds Last Year, Pozzo Setted Fastest Times On Final 2 Stages Of The Day, He Is Now The Leader Of The Rally, While Trelles Lost Time With A Puncture On Stage 5, The Uruguayan Will Drop Into 2nd At The End Of The Day, Marcos Ligato Had Been Running 11th In His Mitsubishi, But Sadly He Retired With A Blown Turbo On The Final Stage Of The Day, Cody Crocker Had Moved Up To 3rd After Karamjit Singh Broke A Driveshaft On Stage 5, And Is Setting Up To Try And Catch The 2 South Americans.
Leaderboard After Day 1.
1 Gabriel Pozzo,  Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.
2 Gustavo Trelles,  Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI
3 Cody Crocker, Subaru Impreza STi N8.
4 Possum Bourne, Subaru Impreza WRX.
5 Karamjit Singh , Proton Pert.
6 Uwe Nittel, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.
7 Domenico Caldarola, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.
8 Kristian Poulsen, Mitsubishi Carisma GT.
9 Jeremy Easson, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.
10 David Mann, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.
Day 2 Of Rally Sweden, 6 More Stages Would See Dramas Throughout The Day, Leader Of Leg 1 Gabriel Pozzo Began The Leg Badly, His Screen Misted Up Following The Air Conditioning Of His Car Faulted, He Lost 5 Seconds Of His Lead And He Dropped To 3rd, Cody Crocker Has Been 3rd After Leg 1, Now Is Leading The Rally After Gustavo Trelles Also Lost Time Thanks To A Slow Puncture, The Australian Is Pushing Hard, Possum Bourne Had Moved Up To 4th Overnight After Karamjit Singh Suffered More Problems With Is Proton, The Malaysian Is Still Fighting Hard And Is Currently Running 5th Ahead Of German Driver Uwe Nittel In His Mitsubishi, Sadly This Will Be The Last Time We See Jeremy Easson On This Rally, He Went Out With Gearbox Problems While Domenico Caldarola Had Been Running In 7th After Day 1 Also Retired With A Broken Driveshaft On Stage 9, That Means Kristian Poulsen Was Now Up To 7th In His Carisma, And David Mann Up To 8th In His Lancer, Local Driver Kenneth Backlund Was Now Up To 9th In His Mitsubishi, And Australian Ed Ordynski Was Now Up To 10th, Crocker Is Now In Charge Of The Rally, Going Into The Final Leg Of The Rally In The Lead Over Trelles In 2nd And Pozzo In 3rd.
Leaderboard After Day 2.
1 Cody Crocker, Subaru Impreza STi N8.
2 Gustavo Trelles,  Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.
3 Gabriel Pozzo,  Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.
4 Possum Bourne, Subaru Impreza WRX.
5 Karamjit Singh, Proton Pert.
6 Uwe Nittel, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI
7 Kristian Poulsen, Mitsubishi Carisma GT.
8 David Mann, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.
9 Kenneth Backlund, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.
10 Ed Ordynski, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.
The 3rd And Final Day Of Rally Sweden Would See 5 Special Stages And Cody Crocker Settles Onto The Stages In The Lead, The Aussie Is Pushing So Hard To Keep The Field Behind Him, Pozzo Is Now In Perfect Pace After The Drama Of Day 2, He Overtook Gustavo Trelles On Stage 14 To Move Up To 2nd, The Uruguayan Is Setting More Times On The Final Day Despite Losing 2nd To Pozzo, The 4 Times PWRC Champion  Is Pushing Hard On The Snowy Stages Of Sweden, Possum Bourne Is Still Fighting Over 4th Place With Karamjit Singh Since Day 2, The Malaysian Is Hoping On Driving To Defend Both Of His Championships Heading Into 2001, He’ll Also Be Driving In The Proton Pert In The Asia-Pacific Championship This Year, He And Co Driver Allen Oh Are Currently Still In 5th Ahead Of The Master Of German Rallying Uwe Nettel, Local Driver Kenneth Backlund Had Been In A Battle For 8th Over David Mann, However, He Pushed Too Hard And Went Into A Snowbank On Stage 15, He Lost Alot Of Minutes And Dropped Out Of Contention, Sadly Ed Ordynski Would Retire From The Rally After Snow Got Into His Engine Which Caused It To Overheat On Stage 14, Richard Tuthill Was 12th In The Rally, But He Would Also End Up On A Snowbank On Stage 15, He Was Lucky To Complete The Stage, But Then Was Forced To Retire With A Damaged Water Pump Following The Off, Leif Asterhag Was Another To Retire With Gearbox Problems On His Celica, Dieter De Pessemier Was Next On The Retirement List When He Wrecked The Rear Axle Of His Toyota Celica, Jani Paasonen Was Lucky To Stay In The Rally After Going Off Into A Snowbank On Day 2, He’s Climbing Up The Order And Is Currently Running 13th, While Team Mate Kristian Sohlberg Wasn’t Going To Finish In The Rally As He Suffered Clutch Problems With His Mitsubishi Carisma GT, Anthony Wilmington Had Suffered Teething Troubles With His Escort RS Cosworth, He Then Knocked A Wheel Off His Car On Stage 14, He Was Lucky To Get To The End Of The Stage But Loads Of Damage Were Done, Gianfranco Cunico Had Used To Drive In An Escort RS Cosworth At His Home Rally In San Remo, The Italian Was Down In 16th Place In His Ford Mondeo After Some Mechanical Problems On Day 2, He Was Going So Well On The First Day, Getting Through The Stages Strongly, Brian Madsen Had Drove In A Peugeot 106 Maxi At The Rallies In Belgium In 1999, And Last Year Drove A Ford Puma Kit Car, The Dane Is Entered In This Round Of This Year’s Group N Championship At The Wheel Of The Audi A4, 18th Overall Is Where He Would Finish The Rally, Fellow Dane Finn Kristensen Is Also At The Wheel Of A Non Subaru Or Mitsubishi, He’s Driving An Alfa Romeo 156 N4, And He’s Going Through The Stages Strongly, However He Then Suffered A Lose Turbo Charger, And Which Saw Him Slid Out Of Contention, David Loix Who Is Freddy’s Brother Was Going Strongly On The Stages On His Return Drive In A Group N Mitsubishi, However He Developed Steering Problems Throughout The Final Day And Would Finish The Rally 15th Of The Group N Cars, German Driver Sven Haaf Had Been Going Well At This Rally, However He Then Suffered Engine Troubles On Day 2, And Then His Rally Ended In Dramatic Fashion On Stage 15 With A Roll, His Car Was Badly Damaged And He Retired, During The Final Service Before The Final Stage, There Was One Special Guest At The Rally, Juha Kankkunen Was Watching This Year’s Rally Sweden As A Spectator, And Was Hoping To Enter In A Round Of The 2001 Formula Rally World Championship At The Wheel Of A Super 1600 Car, Many National And Local Crews In Other Cars Rather Than The 2 Litre And Group N Cars Were Entered In This Rally, Some Struggled Throughout The Rally, Some Dropped Out Or Got Through The Rally Safely, But There Was Drama On The Last Stage Of The Rally As Cody Crocker Was Setting To Take The First Victory Of The 2001 Formula Rally Group N World Championship When Disaster Struck, His Turbo Blew Just A Few Miles From The Finish, The Aussie Was Out Of The Rally, So Now Gabriel Pozzo Is Now The New Leader After Crocker’s Exit With Gustavo Trelles Up To 2nd And Possum Bourne Taking 3rd, There Were Finishers In The Top 10, Dominic Buckley Was Now Up To 10th Place, Behind Local Driver Oscar Svedlund Who Finished His Home Rally 9th In His Mitsubishi With Co Driver Bjorn Nilsson, Ahead Of Then Was Norwegian Driver Lars Hollie And Co Driver Kenneth Olsen In Their Shell Norway Motorsport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV Who Finished 8th, Julian Reynolds Drove A Toyota Celica GT-4 Last Year, And Now He’s Making A Switch To A Mitsubishi In The Group N Class, He And Co Driver Ieuan Thomas Would Finish 11th, Gabriel Pozzo Is Cruising His Way To Take The First Victory Of The 2001 Group N Category Of The Formula Rally World Championship, The Argentine Drove Through The Last Stage As They Passed Crocker’s Stranded Subaru, Pozzo Crossed The Line Of The Final Stage The Winner Of The Production Class And Is Set To Kick Off His 2001 Campaign In Style With Co Driver Daniel Stillo, Gustavo Trelles Would Finish The Rally In 2nd, While The Only Subaru Driver On The Podium Will Be The New Zealander Possum Bourne.
Final Results.
1 Gabriel Pozzo, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.
2 Gustavo Trelles,  Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.
3 Possum Bourne, Subaru Impreza WRX.
4 Karamjit Singh, Proton Pert.
5 Uwe Nittel, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI
6 Kristian Poulsen, Mitsubishi Carisma GT.
7 David Mann, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.
8 Lars Hollie, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV.
9 Oscar Svedlund, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.
10 Dominic Buckley, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.
And With The Win In Sweden Sees Gabriel Pozzo The Leader Of The Championship, He’ll Also Contest Rounds In The Production World Rally Championship This Year, While Possum Bourne, Cody Crocker And Karamjit Singh Will All Contest In The Asia-Pacific Rally Championship This Year.
Drivers Championship
1 Gabriel Pozzo, 10 Pts.
2 Gustavo Trelles, 9 Pts.
3 Possum Bourne, 8 Pts.
4 Karamjit Singh, 7 Pts.
5 Uwe Nittel, 6 Pts.
6 Kristian Poulsen, 5 Pts.
7 David Mann, 4 Pts.
8 Lars Hollie, 3 Pts.
9 Oscar Svedlund, 2 Pts
10 Dominic Buckley, 1 Pts.
The Group N Championship Will Consist Some Selected Rounds In The Formula Rally World Championship, Some More Group N Cars Have Also Been Entered At The First Round Of The Group N Championship Along With The 33 Entries As Well, But There Will Be Drivers Joining By Every Round Of This Year’s Championship, Victory Of The 1st Round Of The Group N Championship In Sweden Was To Gabriel Pozzo And Daniel Stillo, The Next Round Of The Championship Is Rally Mexico, See You There.Category:Non Series