Berliner Tageblatt - Evans edges out Katsuta to win Swedish rally

NYSE - LSE
RBGPF 3.44% 67.16 $
RYCEF -0.5% 8.05 $
GSK -0.22% 36.53 $
CMSC 0.04% 23.4603 $
NGG 1% 60.99 $
BP -2.23% 34.54 $
BTI 0.72% 38.415 $
RELX -0.75% 50.51 $
RIO -2.25% 62.77 $
VOD -0.85% 8.27 $
AZN -1.34% 73.81 $
SCS 0.73% 12.4 $
BCC -2.64% 118.31 $
CMSD -0.51% 23.579 $
JRI -0.55% 12.77 $
BCE 0.26% 23.43 $
Evans edges out Katsuta to win Swedish rally
Evans edges out Katsuta to win Swedish rally / Photo: © AFP

Evans edges out Katsuta to win Swedish rally

Elfyn Evans scraped home in the snow to claim the Rally of Sweden on Sunday, the Welsh driver fending off a late challenge from his Toyota teammate Takamoto Katsuta.

Text size:

Hyundai's defending world champion Thierry Neuville completed the podium in this second round of the season.

Evans, who won in Sweden in 2020, had a fight on his hands with Katsuta claiming Sunday's first stage. But the 2024 championship runner-up rattled off wins in the next two for his 10th career win on the WRC circuit.

Evans finished a mere 3.8 seconds ahead of Katsuta, with Neuville at 11.9sec.

Evans moved to the top of the fledgling drivers' standings on 61 points, with Sebastien Ogier, winner of the season-opener in Monaco but skipping Sweden, in second on 33pts.

"It's been a very good weekend but I made life very difficult for myself on that first stage this morning," said Evans.

"At least it focused the mind.

"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," added Evans, who came in second in Monte Carlo.

Kenya stages the third of 14 rallies next month.

P.Anderson--BTB