Elfyn Evans, winner of the 2021 edition of the Rally of Portugal, took the 10th victory of his career on the Rally of Sweden after a thrilling duel with Toyota GAZOO Racing team-mate Takamoto Katsuta. With this success, the Welshman took the lead in the FIA World Rally Championship.
After four days of intense competition on the icy Umeå stages, it was by just 3.8 seconds that Evans won a fantastic duel with Japan's Katsuta. The Welshman went into the final day of the Rally of Sweden with a minimum margin of 3.0 seconds and even lost the lead when Katsuta made a strong start, winning the first pass through Västervik with a lead of 7.5 seconds. However, Evans and his co-driver Scott Martin reacted quickly.
They regained the lead on the second pass through Västervik, re-establishing a lead of 3.7 seconds, before consolidating their lead with a dominant performance on the final Power Stage - securing the win, while Katsuta held on to second place ahead of Thierry Neuville's Hyundai, which finished 11.9 seconds off the top in third.
With this result and after his second place in the Monte Carlo Rally, Evans has risen to the top of the FIA World Rally Championship, with a lead of 28 points after two of the 14 rounds.
‘It's been a very good weekend, but I made life quite difficult for myself in Sunday's first stage', emphasised Evans. ‘At least it helped me focus. We did well in the last few specials and obviously we're very happy with this win. In terms of the championship, it's a great start. Of course, it's still very early days, but I don't think you can ask for much more than this.’
Neuville, the defending champion, had to work hard to secure the final podium place, holding off team-mate Ott Tänak's recovery by just 4.9 seconds. Tänak, who suffered an engine problem in his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 on Saturday, returned in fine form on Super Sunday, only to be overtaken by Evans and Katsuta on the final day's pace.
Two-time WRC champion Kalle Rovanperä had a frustrating weekend, unable to find his usual rhythm. The Toyota star won only one of the rally's 18 stages and ended up 16.0 seconds behind Tänak, finishing in fifth position.
Martinš Sesks made a solid return to the WRC, securing sixth place as the best M-Sport Ford driver. The Latvian finished the rally 17.6 seconds ahead of Sami Pajari's Toyota, while Josh McErlean - who was eighth - fell down the rankings after getting stuck in a snowbank on the first special of the day with his Puma Rally1.
Grégoire Munster inherited eighth place from team-mate McErlean, while WRC2 leaders Oliver Solberg and Roope Korhonen completed the top 10.
The FIA World Rally Championship now heads to Africa for the legendary Safari Rally in Kenya, the third round of the season, from 20 to 23 March.