The registration for Rally Sweden 2024 is now closed. 56 teams from 27 different countries will participate in the WRC event in Umeå from February 15-18. The two recent years' winners, Kalle Rovanperä and Ott Tänak, both join the competition, along with the Swedish headline name Oliver Solberg.
The World Champion
In the debut year, Kalle Rovanperä emerged victorious in Umeå. The Finnish driver, who won the entire WRC series in both 2022 and 2023, is, despite announcing a part-time effort this year, undoubtedly one of the favorites. The brit Elfyn Evans finished fourth last year and has, so far, struggled to maintain full focus during his participation in Rally Sweden.
Last year’s winner
The Hyundai team, with last year’s winner Ott Tänak and his loyal co-driver Martin Järveoja, is also entering the competition. Whether the new environment will lead him to repeat the victory from 2023 remains to be seen. Hyundai’s other rally duo, Thierry Neuville and the always sharp Finn Esa-Pekka Lappi, will definitely pose a threat to victory if they can steer their cars on the right side of the margins on the winter roads. Belgian Thierry Neuville, third in the overall series in 2023, has been on the podium both times in Umeå. Lappi finished second when driving for Toyota in 2022 and was strongly in the race for victory in over two-thirds of the competition last year before going off the road on the penultimate stage on Saturday.
The Challengers
M-Sport Ford celebrated with their headline name Ott Tänak on top of the podium at The Red Barn Arena last year. For Rally Sweden, team manager Richard Millener brings up-promoted WRC 2 driver Grégoire Munster from Luxembourg in the top driver class, and the team also gives Frenchman Adrien Fourmaux another chance. He participated in 2022 but had to retire due to a mechanical issue.
20 x WRC2
In the WRC 2 class, there will undoubtedly be a close fight for victory. No less than 20 teams will start, and last year’s winner, now driving for Skoda’s factory team, Oliver Solberg, is, of course, the big favorite on home turf. The class features a whole roster of new teams making their debut in the competition. Toyota presents two Japanese-Finnish debutant teams, Yuki Yamamoto/Marko Salminen and Hikaru Kogure/Topi Luhtinen.
Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, Hyundai i20 N Rally 1
Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe, Belgien
Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja, Estland, Esa-Pekka Lappi/Janne Ferm, Finland
M-Sport Ford WRT, Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1
Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria, Frankrike
Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka, Luxemburg/Belgien
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT NG, Toyota GR Yaris Rally 1
Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston, Japan/Irland
Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin, Storbritannien, Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen, Finland
Lorenzo Bertelli/Simone Scattolin, Italien
Rally Sweden
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