Sawt Falasteen - Evans edges out Katsuta to win Swedish rally

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Evans edges out Katsuta to win Swedish rally
Evans edges out Katsuta to win Swedish rally / Photo: Jonathan NACKSTRAND - 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.

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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.

W.Mansour--SF-PST