Rally Sweden LIVE – Day 3

Sebastian Ogier kept a hard-charging Sebastian Loeb behind him to retain his lead in Rally Sweden on the penultimate day of the event. Bear in mind that keeping a seven-time World Rally Champion in your tracks requires not only superhuman skill, but nerves of titanium as well. And it appears that Ogier has both, as he retained a lead of 26.9 seconds over Loeb in his Citroen.

Tomorrow, however, will be another day, and while Ogier would be delighted to take the first win for VW, he has his eye firmly on the championship – something Loeb doesn’t have to worry about since he won’t be competing in the entire season. So, he can risk it all in a mad charge to the finish, while Ogier has it all to lose if he makes a mistake on the super-fast and ultra-slippery stages of Rally Sweden.

Meanwhile, taking over third spot from other VW driver, Latvala – last year’s winner – was 25-year-old Norwegian Mads Ostberg. And considering that two stages are held across the border in Norway on the final day of the rally, Ostberg will be extra motivated to keep his podium position. In fact, he could well trouble the French World Rally Champion for second spot since they’re separated by just 4 seconds. Latvala, on the other hand, dropped to over a minute behind his teammate – rally leader Ogier. He claims he needs more time in the car before he can feel fully comfortable to truly push to the limit. Nevertheless, to regain third spot, his team has softened the set-up of his car, and Latvala promises to alter his driving style as well to suit his new steed – which is to say he needs to be smoother and less spectacular through the corners.

Spectacular, though, is the perfect way to describe Rally Sweden, which is set up for a fantastic finale! And one thing’s for certain, the Swedish fans will be out in full force no matter what the weather on Sunday…