Katsuta set the fastest time on the 29 km-long Västervik stage, beating Hyundai’s Ott Tänak by 0.9 seconds. More significantly, he was 7.5 seconds quicker than his teammate Elfyn Evans, taking over the rally lead by 4.5 seconds.
Katsuta is now chasing his first-ever WRC victory.
“I drove really cleanly. A few places were slipperier than expected, and I had to use the snowbanks. Maybe I could push more, but I don’t know if it’s necessary,” Katsuta commented.
Evans, on the other hand, struggled to match his earlier pace.
“Just struggling for confidence at the front end and then not carrying the speed. Not sure why. I don’t know why it feels so different from yesterday,” Evans explained.
Tänak, meanwhile, reduced his gap to teammate Thierry Neuville, who sits third overall. With just two stages remaining, Neuville’s advantage over Tänak has shrunk to only 1.8 seconds, while Tänak trails the leader by 10.7 seconds.
“Not a good run. The car is understeering all the time. I can’t do much more,” Neuville admitted.
“Now we were able to drive the way we wanted. The car is working normally. It’s a shame we couldn’t drive properly the whole day yesterday,” Tänak said.
Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä was third fastest on the opening stage of Sunday. However, it looks increasingly likely that he will have to settle for fifth place, a huge disappointment considering pre-event expectations. He now sits 13.5 seconds behind third-placed Neuville.
“This is a really nice stage. The final section will clean up quite a lot, and the road will get faster. I really tried to push, and I think I drove well,” Rovanperä said.
Among the Rally1 drivers, the Västervik stage proved to be the end of the rally for M-Sport Ford’s Josh McErlean, who went off the road and got stuck in a snowbank. His teammate Martins Sesks continues in sixth place, followed by Toyota’s Sami Pajari and M-Sport’s Gregoire Munster.
In WRC2, Sweden’s Oliver Solberg remains in control with a comfortable lead. Finland’s Roope Korhonen sits second, now over 40 seconds behind.
Rally Sweden has two more special stages remaining before the event concludes.
Rally Sweden standings after SS16/18:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | 2:14:22.5 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +4.5 |
| 3. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +8.9 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +10.7 |
| 5. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +22.4 |
| 6. | Martins Sesks | Ford | +1:46.6 |
| 7. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +2:06.1 |
| 8. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +2:05.8 |
| 9. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +3:20.6 |
| 10. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +7:11.7 |
| 11. | Roope Korhonen | Toyota | +7:53.4 |
| 12. | Robert Virves | Skoda | +8:01.0 |
| 13. | Mikko Heikkilä | Skoda | +8:03.8 |
| 14. | Lauri Joona | Skoda | +8:43.6 |
Rally Sweden itinerary (CET):
Thursday 13th February
09:01 Shakedown: Umeå City (3:44 km)
19:05 SS1: Umeå Sprint 1 (5:16 km)
Friday 14th February
09.18 SS2: Bygdsiljum 1 (28.27 km)
10.19 SS3: Andersvattnet 1 (20.51 km)
11.27 SS4: Bäck 1 (10.80 km)
12.55 Service (40 min)
14.48 SS5: Bygdsiljum 2 (28.27 km)
15.49 SS6: Andersvattnet 2 (20.51 km)
16.57 SS7: Bäck 2 (10.80 km)
19.05 SS8: Umeå Sprint 2 (5.16 km)
Saturday 15th February
09.10 SS9: Vännäs 1 (15.65 km)
10.05 SS10: Sarjöliden 1 (14.23 km)
11.08 SS11: Kolksele 1 (16.06 km)
12.45 Service (40 min)
14.10 SS12: Vännäs 2 (15.65 km)
15.05 SS13: Sarjöliden 2 (14.23 km)
16.08 SS14: Kolksele 2 (16.06 km)
18.05 SS15: Umeå 1 (10.08 km)
Sunday 16th February
07.27 SS16: Västervik 1 (29.35 km)
09.00 Service (15 min)
09.57 SS17: Västervik 2 (29.35 km)
12.15 SS18: Umeå 2 (10.08 km) *Power Stage
