Welshman seizes the FIA World Rally Championship lead after thrilling Sunday showdown.
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 Umeå's 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 Västervik's 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 Hyundai's 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.
"It's been a very good weekend, but I made life very difficult for myself on that first stage this morning," Evans smiled. "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.
"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."
Neuville, the reigning champion, had to work hard to secure the final podium spot, fending off resurgent team-mate Ott Tänak by just 4.9sec. Tänak, 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 Rovanperä endured a frustrating weekend, struggling to find his usual rhythm. The Toyota star claimed just one stage win across the rally's 18 tests and ultimately trailed Tänak by 16.0sec as he settled for fifth place.
Mārtiņš Sesks delivered a solid performance on his WRC return, securing sixth place as M-Sport Ford's top finisher. The Latvian ended the rally 17.6sec ahead of Toyota's 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.
Grégoire Munster inherited eighth from team-mate McErlean as WRC2 frontrunners Oliver Solberg and Roope Korhonen completed the top 10.
PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, RALLY SWEDEN
1 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 2h33m39.2s
2 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +3.8s
3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +11.9s
4 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +16.8s
5 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +32.8s
6 Mārtiņš Sesks/Renārs Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +2m09.4s
7 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +2m27.0s
8 Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +4m08.6s
9 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +8m23.1s
10 Roope Korhonen/Anssi Viinikka (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +9m05.6s
(Results as of 12:30 on Sunday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for drivers after round 2:
1 Elfyn Evans 61 points
2 Sébastien Ogier 33
3 Kalle Rovanperä 31
4 Thierry Neuville 29
5 Ott Tänak 26
6 Takamoto Katsuta 25
7 Adrien Fourmaux 21
8 Mārtiņš Sesks 8
9 Sami Pajari 6
10 Josh McErlean 6 ..
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for manufacturers after round 2:
1 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team 120 points
2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 72
3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 25
4 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT2 11
What's next?
The legendary Safari Rally Kenya – the only African round of the WRC – hosts round three on March 20-23. Since returning to the calendar in 2021, the event continues to provide gruelling conditions on rough and rocky roads as well as high speeds across open plains.
