Elfyn Evans edged out Takamoto Katsuta in a thrilling final-day battle to win Rally Sweden and seize the WRC championship lead.
Elfyn Evans has clinched a dramatic victory at Rally Sweden fending off a fierce final-day challenge from Toyota GAZOO Racing team-mate Takamoto Katsuta to claim his 10th FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) triumph.
After four intense days of action on Umeå’s frozen stages, Evans showed his trademark composure under pressure.
Takamoto Katsuta takes the Rally Sweden lead with two stages left, edging past Elfyn Evans in a thrilling Sunday morning charge.
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The Welsh rally driver entered the final day with a razor-thin 3.0-second advantage over Katsuta but found himself briefly overtaken when the Japanese driver unleashed a blistering 7.5-second stage win on Sunday’s opening test at Västervik. The battle was on, but Evans was not about to let this one slip.
“It’s been a very good weekend, but I made life very difficult for myself on that first stage this morning,” Evans admitted in Toyota GAZOO Racinga interview with WRC portal.
“At least it focused the mind. We had a good run over the last couple of stages and obviously, we’re very happy with the end result.”
The 35-year-old and his co-driver Scott Martin responded immediately, reclaiming the lead with a superb benchmark time on the repeated Västervik run.
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He then hammered home his advantage with a commanding performance in the rally-ending Wolf Power Stage, securing victory by 3.8 seconds.
Katsuta, though disappointed to miss out on his maiden WRC victory, was proud of his performance. He not only pushed Evans to the limit but also managed to hold off a determined Thierry Neuville, who finished 11.9 seconds behind in third place.
Neuville, the reigning WRC champion, was forced to fight hard to secure his podium spot, fending off a late charge from his Hyundai team-mate Ott Tänak.
The Estonian, struggling with an engine mapping issue on Saturday, bounced back with strong pace on Sunday but ultimately fell short by just 4.9 seconds.
“I really had to push to keep Tänak behind,” Neuville said.
“We didn’t have the perfect setup, but we managed to secure the podium, which is a solid result for the championship.”
Two-time WRC champion Kalle Rovanperä endured a frustrating weekend, unable to find his usual rhythm.
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Despite his best efforts, the Toyota driver managed just one stage win across the rally’s 18 tests and settled for fifth place, trailing Tänak by 16.0 seconds.
Further down the order, Latvia’s Mārtiņš Sesks made a solid return to WRC competition, finishing as M-Sport Ford’s top driver in sixth place.
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He ended the rally 17.6 seconds ahead of Toyota’s Sami Pajari, while Josh McErlean—who had been running eighth—suffered heartbreak after getting his Puma Rally1 stuck in a snowbank on the first stage of the day.
His misfortune allowed Grégoire Munster to move into eighth, while WRC2 frontrunners Oliver Solberg and Roope Korhonen rounded out the top 10.
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Drama unfolded at Rally Sweden as Adrien Fourmaux lost crucial time after a helmet mishap forced him to stop mid-stage.
With his Rally Sweden victory, Evans now leads the WRC standings by 28 points, building on his runner-up finish at Rallye Monte-Carlo last month. Despite his strong start to the season, he remains cautious about what lies ahead.
“Championship-wise, it’s been a very good start. Obviously, it’s very early days but I don’t think you could wish for much better than this,” Evans reflected.
The WRC now heads to Africa for the legendary Safari Rally Kenya which takes place from 20–23 March. With unpredictable terrain and extreme conditions awaiting the battle for the 2024 title is only just beginning.
