Abu Dhabi: Having started joint fifth overall in day two, Mads Østberg moved ahead of Mikko Hirvonen and Ott Tanak to grab third place at the Rally Sweden on Saturday.
The two other Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team crews also moved up the standings.
The final few kilometres of day one’s first leg had given an idea of the potential of the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team. The three Citroën DS3 WRCs took advantage of the work done since the start of Rally Sweden to continue to make progress and move up the standings.
After starting the day in fifth position, Mads Østberg grabbed third place overall on SS8.
Visibly more comfortable on roads where the frozen gravel was exposed, the Norwegian showed good speed and consistency to carve out a significant advantage over his nearest challengers.
Ostberg said: “I’m starting to understand where we are losing time compared to the fastest drivers. But it’s difficult to find those extra few seconds. I’m trying to change my driving style so I can close the gap. The goal is to keep it up and try and hold onto our position until the end.”
After spending the first day learning about the conditions, Kris Meeke maintained the same pace in the second day.
The Northern Irishman cut the gap on the leaders and, although he maintained that he was not focusing too much on the result, his sixth place reflected the hard work he had put in.
Meeke said: “The conditions were changing a lot this morning. As more cars came through the stages, the gravel was increasingly exposed under the snow. There was a lot more grip. I was pleased with my consistency, especially as some of the others ran into problems. I’m now sixth overall, and to be honest, that’s beyond the expectations I had for this rally.” Second on the road, Khalid Al Qasimi, had to deal with especially tricky conditions. Without making any mistakes, he moved up to 18th position.
The Emirati said: “We were first on the road today. It was difficult to feel confident. I tried to push a bit more in some sections, but I almost went off. I don’t want to take any more risks even though I know I can go faster. If we feel better tomorrow, then we’ll push a bit more.”
A long final day awaits the crews still in the race. Sunday’s closing leg features eight timed stages over a total of 142 kilometres. SS24, Varmullsesen, will be the Power Stage.
