Elfyn Evans fended off a determined charge from Toyota GAZOO Racing team-mate Takamoto Katsuta on Sunday to secure victory at Rally Sweden and move into the FIA World Rally Championship lead.
After four days of intense action on UmeĆ„ās frozen stages, Evans delivered when it mattered most – shutting the door on Katsuta in a dramatic final-day shootout to claim his 10th career WRC win by 3.8sec.
Starting Sunday with a razor-thin 3.0sec advantage, the Welshman briefly lost the lead as Katsuta came out firing, producing a 7.5sec stage win on VƤstervikās opening run. But Evans and co-driver Scott Martin were quick to respond.
They fought back in style on the repeated run that followed, setting the benchmark time to reclaim control by 3.7sec before hammering home their advantage with a commanding drive through the rally-ending Wolf Power Stage – sealing victory as Katsuta held off Hyundaiās Thierry Neuville, who finished 11.9sec back from the top spot in third.
The result moved Evans to the top of the FIA World Rally Championship standings with a lead of 28 points after two of 14 rounds, building on his runner-up finish at the season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo last month.
Neuville, the reigning champion, had to work hard to secure the final podium spot, fending off resurgent team-mate Ott TƤnak by just 4.9sec. TƤnak, hindered by an engine mapping issue on his i20 N Rally1 on Saturday, was back to form for Super Sunday and third only to Evans and Katsuta in outright pace across the final day.
Two-time WRC champion Kalle RovanperƤ endured a frustrating weekend, struggling to find his usual rhythm. The Toyota star claimed just one stage win across the rallyās 18 tests and ultimately trailed TƤnak by 16.0sec as he settled for fifth place.
MÄrtiÅÅ” Sesks delivered a solid performance on his WRC return, securing sixth place as M-Sport Fordās top finisher. The Latvian ended the rally 17.6sec ahead of Toyotaās Sami Pajari, while Josh McErlean – who had been running eighth – slid down the order after getting his Puma Rally1 stuck in a snowbank on the first stage of the day.
GrĆ©goire Munster inherited eighth from team-mate McErlean. – www.fia.com
