Elfyn Evans emerged from a thrilling Friday at Rally Sweden with a slender lead as an intense battle at the top saw just 9.1 seconds covering the leading five drivers. The FIA World Rally Championship’s only pure snow rally delivered a day of fluctuating fortunes, with multiple lead changes across the seven snow and ice-laden speed tests.
The Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver set the early pace and led at midday service, but as conditions evolved, so did the leaderboard. Takamoto Katsuta briefly hit the front on SS5 before Evans responded immediately to reclaim the top spot. Then, as darkness fell over the Bäck stage, Ott Tänak edged ahead – only to lose his advantage on the final Umeå Sprint test as worn tyres cost him valuable time. Evans seized the opportunity, clocking the fastest time to move back into the lead once more.
Katsuta’s strong pace kept him within just 0.6sec of his Toyota team-mate, while Tänak slipped to third, 2.5sec off the lead. Adrien Fourmaux was one of the standout performers in the morning, winning two stages and running as high as second. His momentum slowed slightly in the afternoon, but the Frenchman still ended the day a strong fourth, just 5.4sec behind Hyundai i20 N Rally1 colleague Tänak.
“It’s been very close out there today,” said Evans. “Sometimes it’s suited us to be running at the front and sometimes it hasn’t. This morning it was pretty good for us but the grip was still quite changeable and difficult to read. The afternoon was not so kind for us and even the last stage felt quite messy but still the time was good. Compared to how it’s been when we’ve opened the road here in the past, we should probably be quite happy to be in the lead after Friday, but the gaps are very tight so let’s see how tomorrow plays out.”
Defending champion Thierry Neuville endured a frustrating start, struggling with understeer, but found his rhythm later in the day. A stage win helped him claw back some time, and he completed the leg 9.1sec down on Evans in fifth overall. Two-time world champion Kalle Rovanperä had an uncharacteristically subdued day. Not helped by an overshoot on SS5, the Finn failed to break into the top three on any stage and trailed Neuville by 16.4sec at close of play.
Toyota Team Principal Jari-Matti Latvala was pleased with his team’s performance but cautious about the tight margins. “It’s been a very exciting day. I was a bit worried this afternoon on the second pass that Elfyn might suffer opening the road and lose the chance to fight for the victory, but he’s been driving really superbly to be the first car and to finish the day on top. Taka has also been doing a really good performance, which we know that he can do on this surface. The new tyre is very different and they are both adapting well to it. For Kalle it’s maybe taking a bit more time, but I’m sure that it will come. To have a one-two after the first day means it’s been a really good day, but the fight is tight. When there are so many drivers covered by so few seconds, we need to push and I’m sure tomorrow will be another exciting day.”
Katsuta was equally pleased with his performance, saying, “Today has been very good. It has felt very comfortable: we have not been pushing crazy hard but still the times have been coming. I’m enjoying it a lot so it’s going well so far but there’s still some way to go. At the moment it’s very tight in the top five; one mistake could cost a lot, so I will try to continue in the same way and have another clean day tomorrow. The starting positions should be more equal and the conditions should be good so I’m looking forward to it.”
Mārtiņš Sesks impressed on his return to M-Sport Ford’s Puma Rally1, posting a pair of top-three stage times on his way to seventh. Team-mate Josh McErlean, in only his second Rally1 start, continued to build confidence and finished the day eighth. Toyota’s Sami Pajari showed flashes of strong pace but was hampered by an early brush with a snowbank that dislodged a tyre from the rim and limited him to ninth. Grégoire Munster completed the top 10 in his Puma.
With the battle at the top so close, Saturday’s stages promise to deliver more thrills and spills as the drivers push to the limit on the snow and ice of Rally Sweden.
