Elfin Evans wins Rally Sweden

Elfin Evans (Toyota) won Rally Sweden and led the overall standings of the World Rally Championship (WRC). The GR Yaris Rally1 drivers still managed a double victory, as Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota) finished in second place, 3.8 seconds behind the Welshman, BTA reports.

The final day was short and covered three snowy sections near the northeastern city of Umea, in which Evans maintained his Saturday lead and recorded the tenth victory of his career. Thierry Neuville (Belgium, Hyundai) remained in third position with an additional 8.1 seconds behind.

"If we look at the world championship standings, this is a very good start for me. It's too early to talk about the long-term development of the season, but I couldn't have started better than this," Evans said after the second round of the year, as quoted by Reuters.

The Welshman, second to Ogier last month in Monte Carlo, won the maximum 35 points and now has 61 at the top of the standings. The Frenchman has 33, two-time world champion Kalle Rovanperä (Finland, Toyota) has 31 after fifth place in Sweden, and Neuville has 29. Ogier will drive in a limited number of races this year and is not among the real title contenders.