Evans Takes WRC Lead with Rally Sweden Win

Elfyn Evans leads the World Rally Championship after winning Rally Sweden, finishing ahead of teammate Takamoto Katsuta. Sami Pajari completed the all-Toyota podium. Evans now tops the standings by 13 points over Oliver Solberg.

Evans Leads WRC After Rally Sweden Victory

Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin, who were World Rally Championship runners-up in 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025, now lead the championship following the first two rounds of the 2026 season. Evans secured victory at Rally Sweden, held in the snow-covered forests of Vasterbotten, approximately 600km north of Stockholm.

The Welsh driver finished 14.3 seconds ahead of his Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta, marking his second consecutive win at this event. Finland's Sami Pajari completed the podium, resulting in an all-Gazoo Racing top three.

Jon Armstrong continued to impress in his debut WRC season by finishing eighth, just ahead of fellow Irishman and M-Sport Ford team-mate Josh McErlean.

Evans maintained the lead for most of the four-day rally and, including nine bonus points from Sunday stages, now tops the championship standings by 13 points over Oliver Solberg, the winner of the opening round, who finished fourth in Sweden.

"Pretty chuffed and relieved now," said 37-year-old Evans. "It was difficult with all the tyre management but happy with the time in the end and happy with this result."

Oliver Solberg, in his first full season as a Rally1 driver, won the opening stage on Thursday in Umea. However, the 24-year-old Swede lost time and the lead to Evans on Friday's second stage. Katsuta and his Irish co-driver Aaron Johnston briefly took the lead over the final two stages of day two, but Evans delivered a commanding performance on Saturday to regain control and secure the win.

This outcome mirrors last year's Rally Sweden, where Evans finished just under four seconds ahead of Katsuta to claim the top spot in the WRC standings. Despite this, Evans missed out on the championship title to Sébastien Ogier in the final event of 2025.

Ogier, the nine-time world champion, was absent from this weekend's event as he continues his part-time participation in the WRC calendar.

The next round, the Safari Rally Kenya, scheduled from 12-15 March, will present a significant change in conditions for the drivers. Evans also claimed victory at this event in 2025.