Toyota secured a one-two victory in Rally Sweden, Elfyn Evans the king of the weekend

Evans won the competition, was the fastest on Super Sunday, and also claimed victory on the rally-ending Power Stage, securing maximum points for the weekend. Following a perfect weekend, the Welshman now leads the World Rally Championship standings.

The Power Stage was a tight affair, with Evans edging out his teammate Takamoto Katsuta by just a tenth of a second. The overall rally victory came with a 3.8-second margin over Katsuta. For Toyota, the weekend was a jackpot, just like the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally, as the team collected maximum points.

“It has been a good weekend. I made things difficult for myself on the opening stage of the morning, but I managed well on the next two. I’m really pleased. The start to the championship has been good, but of course, we’re still at the beginning of the season,” Evans summed up.

“I don’t know what to say. A big thanks to the team. A lot of people messaged me, telling me to stay on the road. Unfortunately, I wasn’t quite ready to fight for the victory. Elfyn did a great job on the penultimate stage. Of course, I’m a bit disappointed, but I wanted to stay on the road,” Katsuta commented.

Defending world champion Thierry Neuville finished third, beating his teammate Ott Tänak by 4.9 seconds. Neuville was third on the Power Stage, while Tänak finished outside the top five.

“We drove a good rally, even though there were ups and downs. The conditions kept changing. It’s difficult to know what would have been the best starting position. We fought hard and can be proud of our weekend,” Neuville summarised.

“The stage was a bit like the whole rally – a disaster. I went off in the first corner. Yesterday, in particular, was a big disappointment. It’s hard to swallow the disappointment when you enter a rally with high expectations,” Tänak admitted.

Pre-event favourite, Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä, finished fifth. Rovanperä collected one extra point on Sunday and two points from the rally-ending Power Stage.

“There’s not much to say about our weekend. A big disappointment, but now we need to focus on the next rally. Hopefully, we’ll have better pace on gravel,” Rovanperä said.

M-Sport Ford’s Martins Sesks finished sixth in the competition. Toyota’s Sami Pajari secured seventh place in the overall standings, ahead of Ford driver Gregoire Munster.

In the WRC2 category, home driver Oliver Solberg claimed a dominant victory ahead of Roope Korhonen and Mikko Heikkilä. The class victory on home soil in Sweden marked Solberg’s third career win.

Rally Sweden Results:

Super Sunday Results:

Power Stagen top5: