SVT Sports expert Jonas Kruse believes in an uncertain, rock-hard and fast winter rally in Finnish Rovaniemi.
- Seen as a whole, it must be the most uncertain and interesting rally this year.
Partly because it is new to the vast majority of drivers, partly because it will be an extremely fast rally with speeds up to 200 kilometers per hour on certain stretches.
It is speculated that it may be the fastest in history - where you will match the fastest rally from 2016, also in Finland, with an average speed of 126.6 kilometers per hour, says Kruse.
- But also partly because it will be a real winter rally, with a lot of snow.
And this is really running ”in the middle of nowhere.
You hardly see a house and when you get out of the car you should not be surprised if the first thing you see is a wolf, he continues.
Toyota are favorites
Finding a winner in advance is not the easiest thing, according to Kruse.
In Monte Carlo, the rally was dominated by Toyota with Sebastien Ogier as winner, Elfyn Evans as second and Kalle Rovanperä as fourth.
- There are unusually many who can win.
Many consider Kalle Rovanperä to be a favorite.
I think Teemu Suninen is an outsider.
He did not make a mistake until he crashed in Monte Carlo.
The big pressure is on the Hyundai team, who were not happy after the Monte Carlo rally.
Thierry Neuville was admittedly third, but Ott Tänak had to break with double punctures.
This rally suits them well, but the pressure is great, says Kruse.
However, Kruse puts the favorite on Toyota.
- They have a car that is developed in Finland on fast roads.
They have great self-confidence, and have a team manager (Jari-Matti Latvala) who got a dream start to the season and is at home now.
But above all, Toyota has a car that fits best here.
They are hard to beat, he says.