Elfyn Evans took center stage on a nail-biting Friday at Rally Sweden, securing a narrow lead in what turned out to be a fiercely competitive showdown. Just 9.1 seconds separated the top five drivers, underscoring the intensity of the battle on the only pure snow rally of the FIA World Rally Championship.
The day was a rollercoaster of emotions, marked by shifting leads across the seven treacherous snow and ice-covered speed stages. Evans, behind the wheel of his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, set an impressive early pace, staking his claim to the lead by midday. But as the day wore on and conditions shifted, the leaderboard saw continuous changes.
Takamoto Katsuta made a brief but impactful dash to the front during SS5, prompting Evans to respond swiftly and reclaim his position. As night descended over the Bäck stage, it was Ott Tänak who inched into the lead, only to watch it slip away during the concluding Umeå Sprint test. His worn tires played a pivotal role in this downturn, allowing Evans to seize the lead by clocking the fastest time and regaining the top spot.
Katsuta stayed hot on Evans’ tail, trailing by only 0.6 seconds, while Tänak eased back to third, just 2.5 seconds behind. Adrien Fourmaux had a standout morning, winning two stages and climbing as high as second. Despite a slight drop in momentum during the afternoon, the Frenchman ended the day robustly in fourth place, trailing Tänak by just 5.4 seconds. A stall in SS5, notably at the corner that also troubled Kalle Rovanperä and Josh McErlean, proved his biggest hurdle.
Thierry Neuville, the defending champion, had a rough start with handling issues but caught his stride later. A stage win helped him recover some ground, leaving him 9.1 seconds adrift of Evans in fifth.
Two-time world champion Rovanperä lacked his usual spark, compounded by an oversight on SS5, which kept him outside the top three positions on any stage and 16.4 seconds behind Neuville by day’s end.
Making his presence known, Mārtiņš Sesks, back in M-Sport Ford’s Puma Rally1, impressed with a string of top-three stage times, landing in seventh. McErlean, in his second Rally1 event, rounded off the day in eighth, building his confidence throughout.
Toyota’s Sami Pajari showed promising speed but was thwarted early by a collision with a snowbank, resulting in a dislodged tire and a drop to ninth. Rounding out the top ten was Grégoire Munster in his Puma.
In the WRC2 category, Oliver Solberg picked up where he left off in Umeå last year, leading with style. While his season unofficially commenced at Rallye Monte-Carlo the previous month, this was his first official point-scoring event of the year. Solberg, behind a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 this time, dominated with five stage wins but faced some minor handling issues in the afternoon. This opened a window for fellow Yaris drivers Georg Linnamäe and Roope Korhonen to snatch stage wins, yet Solberg maintained a commanding 23.8-second advantage over Korhonen.
Korhonen had a day to remember, claiming his first WRC2 stage victory and ending the day in a solid second place, ahead of Linnamäe, who climbed from sixth to third during the afternoon.
Romet Jürgenson, the reigning FIA Junior WRC champion, made notable gains, moving from 12th to seventh in his Ford Fiesta Rally2, while a close-knit battle brewed between Isak Reierson and Pontus Tidemand, with just 3.2 seconds separating these Swedish compatriots.
Looking ahead, Saturday offers a thrilling penultimate leg with seven high-speed stages covering nearly 102 kilometers.
In the Junior WRC category, Mille Johansson stole the spotlight, establishing a formidable 48.3-second lead as the new season burst into action. The young Swede, already enjoying a victory on home ground, continued his dominance with fastest times on four of the seven stages, firmly asserting control over his competitors.
A debutant last season, Johansson is now in for the full five-round Junior WRC championship after winning the Junior ERC title in 2024. His strong showing this year positions him as a formidable contender.
Australia’s Taylor Gill and Daniel Brkíc emerged as Johansson’s main challengers, initially setting the quickest time in a morning stage, yet Johansson swiftly pulled ahead. Both Tristan Charpentier and Diego Domínguez suffered setbacks during SS5, with Charpentier losing significant time and Domínguez forced to retire, further amplifying Johansson’s commanding lead.
