Neuville Leads Hyundai 1-2 at Sweden Shakedown

WRC, Sportrik Media - Thierry Neuville set the benchmark time on the Umeå City shakedown stage at Rally Sweden 2026, leading a Hyundai 1-2 ahead of team-mate Adrien Fourmaux for Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team.

Neuville posted a best time of 1m51.8s on his fifth and final run, finishing 0.3s clear of Fourmaux. Hyundai elected to complete five runs during shakedown, in contrast to Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team, whose drivers limited themselves to a maximum of three passes.

Conditions proved unusual, as Rally1 cars entered the stage after Rally2 and Rally3 competitors, immediately facing second-pass conditions with disturbed snow and compromised racing lines. The tricky braking zones caught out several crews, most notably Esapekka Lappi, who struggled for grip under braking and slid into a snowbank.

“I hope it will not be going like that all the time! There is no grip on the braking at all with loose snow, but it doesn’t matter. We go again,” Lappi commented.

Lappi’s best effort was nine tenths off Neuville’s pace, equalling the time of reigning Rally Sweden winner Elfyn Evans, who was Toyota’s fastest driver in the session.

Neuville acknowledged the stage was not ideal but valuable for reacclimatisation after a break from competition.

“It’s not the perfect shakedown to be honest, but to get a bit of a feeling would be good enough. It’s a few weeks since I’ve been driving, so I’m happy to be back in the car,” he said.

Takamoto Katsuta completed the top five and made clear his ambition extends beyond repeating last year’s runner-up result.

“Of course that’s the target this week. I try my best. The stage was not like normal first-pass conditions on shakedown but the car was working very well, so I’m quite confident,” Katsuta stated.

From the M-Sport camp, Josh McErlean was the fastest in sixth position, ahead of championship leader Oliver Solberg. Sami Pajari finished eighth, followed by Jon Armstrong and Martins Sesks, who stalled at the start of his first run.

“It’s the first time in a Rally1 car I’ve stalled – imagine three years without a stall! Always a first time I guess,” Sesks remarked.

In WRC2, Finnish teenager Tuukka Kauppinen topped the category ahead of Sweden’s Isak Reiersen and Finland’s Roope Korhonen.

With Hyundai demonstrating early pace and Toyota opting for a measured approach, the opening competitive stages in Sweden are set to provide a clearer indication of the true competitive order on snow.