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  Home > Rallies > Sweden
Winter Rally
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Every round of WRC is unique but Swedish Rally is one of the truly unique events, being the only winter event of the series. One might think that rally over snow and ice would mean extremely slippery conditions. Use of very narrow tyres coupled with impressive studs however provide lots of grip. So much that drivers reckon it to exceed that of most gravel rallies, even.

Another specialty of the event is the proper use of snow banks. Driver can enter bends with considerable speed and lean the rear of the car to a snow bank. If executed properly, the snow keeps the car on the road. Plough into snow bank head-on or at incorrect angle and you end up digging the car out. For a first-timer judging the amount of grip and proper leaning on snow banks is formidable challenge. It is no wonder that driver outside Scandinavia did not managed to win the event until Sebastien Loeb broke the spell in 2004.

From time to time event has had problems with weather conditions. Mid-winter date has not always assured frozen roads and event has been under pressure to move northward to guarantee snowy conditions. Studded tyres wreak havoc on roads if they are not frozen and warmer the weather, the more repairing the roads will cost to the organisers. In 1990 lack of snow forced the cancellation of the event. Finally in 2022, organisers gave in and moved rally north to Umea where cold weather and snowy conditions are guaranteed.

Website
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Official rally website

Previous winners
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 1973:   Blomqvist, Stig   Saab 96 V4   70.90 km/h 
 1975:   Waldegard, Bjorn   Lancia Stratos HF    
 1976:   Eklund, Per   Saab 96 V4    
 1977:   Blomqvist, Stig   Saab 99EMS   58.72 km/h 
 1978:   Waldegard, Bjorn   Ford Escort RS1800   89.21 km/h 
 1979:   Blomqvist, Stig   Saab 99 Turbo   96.20 km/h 
 1980:   Kullang, Anders   Opel Ascona 400   96.21 km/h 
 1981:   Mikkola, Hannu   Audi quattro   97.06 km/h 
 1982:   Blomqvist, Stig   Audi quattro   96.03 km/h 
 1983:   Mikkola, Hannu   Audi quattro A1   104.94 km/h 
 1984:   Blomqvist, Stig   Audi quattro A2   104.62 km/h 
 1985:   Vatanen, Ari   Peugeot 205 Turbo 16   110.53 km/h 
 1986:   Kankkunen, Juha   Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2   108.00 km/h 
 1987:   Salonen, Timo   Mazda 323 4WD   96.17 km/h 
 1988:   Alen, Markku   Lancia Delta HF 4WD   96.99 km/h 
 1989:   Carlsson, Ingvar   Mazda 323 4WD   101.47 km/h 
 1991:   Eriksson, Kenneth   Mitsubishi Galant VR-4   105.29 km/h 
 1992:   Jonsson, Mats   Toyota Celica GT-4 (ST165)   105.57 km/h 
 1993:   Jonsson, Mats   Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD (ST185)   107.85 km/h 
 1995:   Eriksson, Kenneth   Mitsubishi Lancer Evo II   103.16 km/h 
 1996:   Makinen, Tommi   Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III   106.21 km/h 
 1997:   Eriksson, Kenneth   Subaru Impreza WRC97   106.80 km/h 
 1998:   Makinen, Tommi   Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV   107.50 km/h 
 1999:   Makinen, Tommi   Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI   110.19 km/h 
 2000:   Gronholm, Marcus   Peugeot 206 WRC   112.61 km/h 
 2001:   Rovanpera, Harri   Peugeot 206WRC (2000)   110.10 km/h 
 2002:   Gronholm, Marcus   Peugeot 206WRC (2001)   114.83 km/h 
 2003:   Gronholm, Marcus   Peugeot 206WRC (2002)   116.18 km/h 
 2004:   Loeb, Sebastien   Citroen Xsara WRC   114.83 km/h 
 2005:   Solberg, Petter   Subaru Impreza WRC2004   111.31 km/h 
 2006:   Gronholm, Marcus   Ford Focus RS WRC 06   110.78 km/h 
 2007:   Gronholm, Marcus   Ford Focus RS WRC 06   108.79 km/h 
 2008:   Latvala, Jari-Matti   Ford Focus RS WRC 07   111.26 km/h 
 2010:   Hirvonen, Mikko   Ford Focus RS WRC 09   109.28 km/h 
 2011:   Hirvonen, Mikko   Ford Fiesta RS WRC   103.26 km/h 
 2012:   Latvala, Jari-Matti   Ford Fiesta RS WRC   105.55 km/h 
 2013:   Ogier, Sebastien   Volkswagen Polo R WRC   106.08 km/h 
 2014:   Latvala, Jari-Matti   Volkswagen Polo R WRC   103.77 km/h 
 2015:   Ogier, Sebastien   Volkswagen Polo R WRC   105.29 km/h 
 2016:   Ogier, Sebastien   Volkswagen Polo R WRC   113.44 km/h 
 2017:   Latvala, Jari-Matti   Toyota Yaris WRC   115.40 km/h 
 2018:   Neuville, Thierry   Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC   109.48 km/h 
 2019:   Tanak, Ott   Toyota Yaris WRC   113.48 km/h 
 2020:   Evans, Elfyn   Toyota Yaris WRC   124.28 km/h 
 2022:   Rovanpera, Kalle   Toyota GR Yaris Rally1   121.52 km/h 
 2023:   Tanak, Ott   Ford Puma Rally1   123.85 km/h 
 2024:   Lappi, Esapekka   Hyundai i20 N Rally1   117.62 km/h 
loix leaning
(Click picture to see larger version in a pop-up window)
Loix demonstrates leaning on snow banks and how it's done Click picture to see larger version in a pop-up window
no snow
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Sainz tackling snowless roads in '99 Click picture to see larger version in a pop-up window
snow tyre
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Auriol with narrow studded snow tyre Click picture to see larger version in a pop-up window
Driver wins
  Blomqvist, Stig (5)
  Gronholm, Marcus (5)
  Latvala, Jari-Matti (4)
  Eriksson, Kenneth (3)
  Makinen, Tommi (3)
  Ogier, Sebastien (3)
  Hirvonen, Mikko (2)
  Jonsson, Mats (2)
  Mikkola, Hannu (2)
  Tanak, Ott (2)
  Waldegard, Bjorn (2)
  Alen, Markku (1)
  Carlsson, Ingvar (1)
  Eklund, Per (1)
  Evans, Elfyn (1)
  Kankkunen, Juha (1)
  Kullang, Anders (1)
  Lappi, Esapekka (1)
  Loeb, Sebastien (1)
  Neuville, Thierry (1)
  Rovanpera, Harri (1)
  Rovanpera, Kalle (1)
  Salonen, Timo (1)
  Solberg, Petter (1)
  Vatanen, Ari (1)
Manufacturer wins
  Ford (8)
  Peugeot (6)
  Toyota (6)
  Mitsubishi (5)
  Audi (4)
  Saab (4)
  Volkswagen (4)
  Hyundai (2)
  Lancia (2)
  Mazda (2)
  Subaru (2)
  Citroen (1)
  Opel (1)
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