Rally Sweden, the only true winter rally on the FIA World Rally Championship calendar, takes the contenders to the frozen forests of both Sweden and Norway for one of the fastest events in the series with 24 breathtaking stages (328,4Km). Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi will be participating in his first World Rally Championship event this season in the third CITROËN Total Abu Dhabi WRT’s DS3 WRC car along with Kris Meek/Paul Nagel and Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson. It is worth mentioning that Chris Patterson will sit alongside Al Qassimi in all WRC and MERC events.
Running for the 62nd year, Rally Sweden is once again based in Karlstad with the service park located 85 kilometres away at Hagfors airport. Due to a date clash with the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, the rally will run from Wednesday 5th of February to Saturday the 8th. Also, new for Rally Sweden 2014 are stages in Norway which will be held during the first leg rather than the last day as in 2013.
“I’m very excited about my first WRC event this season, it will be a big challenge for me as it is the first time I sit behind the steering wheel of the DS3 WRC since Rally Spain last year,” Said Al Qassimi. “I am thrilled to have Chris Patterson in the co-pilot seat, his experience will give me that extra push and confidence to deliver better results,” he concluded.
Rally cars powering over ice and snow in sub-zero temperatures provide spectacular action against the backdrop of a winter wonderland, but also demands specific preparation and places huge demands on man and machinery. Tyres, as always, play a huge role and hundreds of tungsten-tipped steel studs protrude from narrow winter tyres, providing amazing grip as they bite through the frozen road surface.
The action begins with Wednesday night’s super special at Karlstad trotting track (20:00). The cars compete head to head in thrilling heats on the exciting track.
“The super special stage is important of course, but no need to take any risk from the beginning. The super special stage could be a tricky one as well especially for the studded tyres in case the track has a very thick layer of ice.”
Thursday’s opening leg is the most northerly, comprising tests in Sweden and Norway, but no service means mechanical issues must be avoided. The second leg journeys east of the Hagfors service park before ending with a repeat of the super special. The final leg covers similar territory before the Karlstad finish.
The only true winter round and a classic Rally Sweden will be characterized by frozen roads lined with snow banks. Drivers ‘lean’ cars against the banks to guide them round corners. But in warmer temperatures the banks disintegrate on impact and cars become stuck in the snow. Studded tyres are essential and provide remarkable grip but drivers must acclimatize to the ‘floating’ feeling and different braking points. When temperatures hover around freezing, the studs tear up the road surface and exposed gravel rips them from the tyres to leave little traction.
It’s worth mentioning that outdoor servicing in temperatures as low as -25°C makes normally routine jobs slower and tricky for gloved mechanics.
One last but not least thing that spectators should not miss is Colin’s Crest in Saturday’s Vargåsen stage. As a mark of respect for the late Colin McRae an award is made for the longest jump here. The record is 37 metres, shared by Ken Block and Marius Aasen.
“I remember in 2008 I was not really pleased with my performance in Sweden Rally, so I pushed my boundaries and challenged myself by going full throttle on Colin’s Crest. Believe it or not… I won the trophy and I have it here in the UAE.”