Welshman Elfyn Evans completed a superb weekend in his Toyota, securing his third victory at Rally Sweden on Sunday, which lifts him to the top of the early championship table.
Back-to-back wins in Sweden! 🏆
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) February 15, 2026
Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin put together a great show of skill and consistency to take their first win of the season, and their third win at Rally Sweden! #WRC | #RallySweden 🇸🇪 pic.twitter.com/WnOMmv0qjh
Sweden was the second event of 14 in the calendar and with Monte Carlo winner Oliver Solberg, also in a Toyota, only finishing fourth, Evans moved 13 points clear of the Swede.
Frenchman Sebastien Ogier, who pipped Evans for the title in the final rally last season, did not take part for family reasons.
After an intense Saturday at Rally Sweden 🇸🇪, Elfyn Evans leads the overall standings heading into Sunday. Takamoto Katsuta runs second, with Sami Pajari rounding out a Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 1-2-3.
— FIA (@fia) February 14, 2026
In WRC2, Roope Korhonen leads the way, followed by Teemu Suninen as crews… pic.twitter.com/Uk8tdtDmOV
"Obviously pretty chuffed and relieved right now," said Evans, who finished 14.3 seconds ahead of teammate Takamoto Katsuta.
"Thanks to the team, they've done an incredible job again, and a Toyota 1-2-3-4 feels amazing. It's always an amazing atmosphere in Sweden and it's a special rally for many reasons."
Evans previously won Rally Sweden, the only snow event of the season, in 2020 and 2025.
Sami Pajari finished 46 seconds behind to complete the podium and make Toyota the first manufacturer since Citroen in 2010 to claim back-to-back podium lockouts in the WRC.
They now have a 51-point advantage over Hyundai in the manufacturers' championship.
The Hyundais of Adrien Fourmaux and Thierry Neuville managed only fifth and seventh, a long way behind the Toyotas.
The third round of the season will see a radical change of conditions as the cars head to Kenya next month for the Safari Rally.