SS9: Mikkelsen fights back

After watching Jari-Matti Latvala almost wipe out his advantage in this morning’s opening stage, Andreas Mikkelsen reasserted his authority on Rally Sweden by widening his lead in the classic Fredriksberg test.

The Norwegian was second fastest in his Volkswagen Polo R, 2.8sec behind team-mate Sébastien Ogier. But, more importantly, he was 2.7sec quicker than Latvala to open the gap to 3.3sec overall.

“We fitted new tyres and it was the right choice,” said Mikkelsen. “We’ll see how much we used them but this rally is all about tyres. I’m trying to balance my speed. Before I have been too eager in this situation and made mistakes but now I want to control it more. There’s still room for improvement, but then you start taking risks.”

Latvala is relishing the battle. “It’s a very good fight at the moment and I’m enjoying it. The car feels good but Andreas is pushing hard and is doing a very good job. He has the young spirit!” said the Finn.

The three-car battle for third continued unabated. Fourth fastest time for Mads Ostberg enabled him to widen his advantage over Mikko Hirvonen to 1.6sec, but Ott Tanak is only 2.5sec further back.

The day is over for Thierry Neuville. After hitting a rock and damaging the front right hub assembly on his Hyundai i20 in the previous test, he eventually emerged from the stage but the damage was too great to continue.