Battle and a Finnish podium | Rally Sweden

The very fast and, as expected, snow-covered Rally Sweden was dominated by drivers from neighbouring Finland. After an early battle for podium positions, the crew of Lauri Joona and Antti Linnaketo, competing in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, ultimately secured third place. In total, four crews driving cars from the Czech manufacturer scored points in Sweden in the WRC2 standings. 
 
In the WRC2 category, Rally Sweden quickly turned into a Finnish affair, as drivers from Finland were battling for the leading positions from the very start of the event. The Lauri Joona / Antti Linnaketo crew took an early lead during the opening super special stage in their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.
 
As is typical in Sweden, crews maintained an extremely high pace on the snow-covered and icy tracks, something the Finnish duo handled well—but so did their rivals. As a result, even though Joona and Linnaketo completed the second special stage, the 27.55-kilometre-long Bygdsiljum test, at a remarkable average speed of 119.6 km/h, it was not enough to maintain the lead.

In the opening stages, the TGS Worldwide team crew fought for second position and remained in close contact with the leading rivals. However, during Friday’s stages they eventually dropped to third place, which they then held onto consistently until the end of the rally. For Lauri Joona, this represents his best result in Sweden to date: he finished eighth in 2023, sixth a year later, and fourth last year. It also marks his return to the podium for the first time since 2024. Considering that Joona jokingly admitted he was driving “like his grandmother”, it was nonetheless an impressive performance.
 
The most successful Swedish crew at Rally Sweden was Isak Reiersen and Stefan Gustavsson, who brought their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, run by the JC Raceteknik team, home in fifth place overall. Eighth place and valuable points went to the Italian crew of Giovanni Trentin and Pietro Elia Ometto. The 19-year-old driver and his experienced co-driver did not get off to a good start of the rally after rolling their car during Thursday’s opening stage. Fortunately, the Delta Rally Team car suffered only minor damage, allowing the crew to rejoin the rally on Friday and begin the chase.