Rally Sweden 2012 could not have gone better for Frank Tore Larsen and co-driver Torstein Eriksen, when the duo contested their second WRC event. With 20 fastest stage times, first in class and 30^th overall, the duo impressed to claim their first victory on the world stage.

The rally started perfectly for Larsen and Eriksen with victory on the first Super Special Stage at Färjestad Racetrack in Karlstad on Thursday evening, 0.8 seconds ahead of closest rivals Steve Røkland and Kim Hjalmarsen in a similar Ford Fiesta R2.

In a mature drive over Friday’s Norwegian stages, the Larsen Motorsport pairing kept their composure to stay within reach of new leader, Røkland. Their composure paid dividends as, when on SS5 Røkland rolled out of the event, Larsen and Eriksen assumed the class lead.

Returning to Sweden for SS9, Larsen hit a rock early in the stage to damage his Ford Fiesta R2. During the evening’s service, the damage required extensive repairs and, being 28 minutes late out of service, the pairing incurred a 4:40 minute time penalty.

With Røkland not restarting on Saturday, Larsen had to keep his focus and set some good times to secure the result. The focus of both driver and co-driver paid off as the pairing found a good flow over Saturday’s evening stages.

This has been an indescribable weekend for Frank Tore Larsen and Torstein Eriksen in their Ford Fiesta R2. Although the focus on the last day was to finish the race, Larsen’s pace was higher than ever.

”We have worked hard to increase our speed throughout the weekend. We have put a lot of work in the notes and careful maintenance, which means a lot in the long run,” said Larsen.

“I have no words,” said co-driver Eriksen. “Not only have we completed our first WRC event, but we have done it on home soil. Four race days, a record number of hundreds of thousands of public, fierce and famous WRC roads! This win couldn’t have been any better.”

Class Result:

1. Larsen / Eriksen 3:58:34.6
2. Walfridson / Barth + 38:48.9
3. Para / Gospodarczyk + 41:52.1

The team also showed their thanks to their mechanics: Magnus, Dag-Inge, Mikal, Per and Borre, without them the result would not have been possible.

While Rally Sweden could not have been more successful for the team, it has also been extremely educational. Just to experience the WRC from the inside, planning, service and repairs, wheel shifts between many stages and not least the complete 350 km of stages comes very handy in the future.

Next rally for Larsen Motorsports is sprint rally Rally Hadeland running this coming Saturday. Unfortunately, there is no recce for this race, but it counts in NMKs Rallycup where the potential prize makes it worthwhile to start.