Elfyn Evans produced a faultless drive to claim a third career Rally Sweden victory as Toyota dominated the second round of the 2026 World Rally Championship.
Evans and co-driver Scott Martin claimed a first win of the season by 14.3s from Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston. Toyota comprehensively defeated a struggling Hyundai across the 18 snow-covered stages, locking out the top four positions.
Toyota’s Sami Pajari recorded a second career podium in third, ahead of Monte Carlo winner and team-mate Oliver Solberg.
“Obviously, pretty chuffed and relieved right now. We were not sure how the Power Stage was going to look. Happy with the time in the end and this result. Big thanks to the team,” said Evans, who moved to the top of the championship standings by 13 points over Solberg, after previously taking Rally Sweden victories in 2020 and 2025.
Evans initially trailed local hero Solberg after Thursday night’s opening stage by 3.8s, but soon charged to the lead of the rally after winning stage two on Friday morning. The Welshman quickly raced into a 14.5s lead over Katsuta after an eventful Friday morning loop, which included a wild off for Solberg in stage three.
Solberg was incredibly fortunate to recover from going deep into a snowbank that caused a front-left puncture. The Swede suffered another off as he dropped to sixth overall.
Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Toyota Racing
Evans was unable to hold on to his lead through Friday afternoon as stage conditions worsened for those at the front. Katsuta made the most of his road position and attacked, winning two of the afternoon stages. The Japanese driver, searching for a maiden WRC win, overhauled Evans after stage seven, before ending Friday with a 2.8s lead.
However, on Saturday Evans fought back, which coincided with a baffled Katsuta’s struggle for grip and confidence behind the wheel of his GR Yaris. Evans claimed stage nine to move into a 4.4s lead, which grew to 18.0s after stage 13.
As Saturday afternoon progressed, Katsuta managed to find his form again and began to take time out of Evans as the gap reduced to 13.3s after stage 15. But Evans held his nerve through Sunday’s three stages to take a 12th career WRC win as Katsuta settled for a fifth career second-place finish.
After taking a 1-2-3 in Monte Carlo, Toyota once again outlined its dominance by going even better, recording a 1-2-3-4. Pajari impressed throughout to bounce back from Monte Carlo disappointment with a podium. The Finn inherited third after Solberg’s off, and despite coming under pressure from the Swede he fended off his team-mate, winning two stages in the process.
Sami Pajari, Marko Salminen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
After falling to sixth following his mistake, Solberg managed to leap ahead of Hyundai drivers Esapekka Lappi and Adrien Fourmaux into fourth by stage nine. Solberg had hoped to snare a podium but found the going tough on the loose snow on Saturday and ultimately finished fourth [+1m11.6s].
It proved to be another difficult event for Hyundai. The Korean marque struggled to unlock speed from its i20 N on the snow stages. All three crews tried a myriad of experimental set-up changes to close the gap to Toyota.
Fourmaux ended up as the top Hyundai after overtaking Lappi, who made an impressive return to the WRC since Chile 2024, on the penultimate stage to finish fifth [+1m50.6s].
Thierry Neuville appeared to struggle more than his team-mates, with the Belgian describing this period as the hardest time of his career to date.
An off in stage three cost Neuville more than a minute to clear a misted-up windscreen. Neuville did find improvements as the rally progressed, winning two stages, although his fastest time in stage 15 was stripped after he incurred a one-minute penalty for failing to have his crash helmet fastened correctly. The 2024 world champion eventually finished in seventh [+3m45.9s].
Jon Armstrong impressed in only his second Rally1 start to finish eighth [+4m05.5], comfortably beating his more experienced M-Sport-Ford team-mate Josh McErlean. A tyre pressure misjudgement hampered the M-Sport crews on Friday as Armstrong, McErlean and Martins Sesks suffered multiple punctures. Sesks was forced to retire after three tyre failures, but rejoined the rally on Saturday, picking up a fastest time in stage 10.
The top 10 was completed by Finland’s Roope Korhonen, who beat returning former WRC factory driver Teemu Suninen, to win the WRC2 class.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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