Evans becomes first driver to win twice in Umeå

Elfyn Evans wins Rally Sweden 2026, the first to win twice in Umeå.

Elfyn Evans became the first driver to win twice in Rally Sweden since the event relocated to Umeå. The driver from Wales, together with his co-driver Scott Martin, seized a firm grip on the rally during Saturday’s opening stages, and from that point on, there was little doubt about the outcome. He ultimately won by 14.3 seconds ahead of teammate Takamoto Katsuta and his co-driver Aaron Johnston.
- I’m obviously very pleased with the result. A big thank you to the team, who have done an incredible job once again, and to have four drivers in the top four positions, said Evans.

Evans thereby repeated last year’s victory in Umeå and claimed his third consecutive win in Rally Sweden. Since the event moved north, he is the first driver to win it twice in Umeå.
It was either Evans or Esa-Pekka Lappi, making his seasonal debut for Hyundai Motorsport, who had that opportunity, as the 2022 and 2023 winners, Kalle Rovanperä and Ott Tänak, had stepped away from the World Championship ahead of this season.
Notably, Evans is now one of only four drivers in history to have won Rally Sweden three times, joining an illustrious group that includes Kenneth Eriksson, Tommi Mäkinen, and Sébastien Ogier.
Evans was largely relentless throughout the weekend and controlled the rally almost from start to finish, aside from a few Friday stages where Katsuta challenged him strongly. The Japanese driver clawed back 14 seconds by the end of the opening day, but lost the same margin to Evans at the start of Saturday, and the time gap remained unchanged for the rest of the rally.
- There’s always a magical atmosphere here in Umeå, and it’s a special rally for several reasons. The speed is unreal, and I hope I’ve made the fans happy, Evans said after the victory.
Katsuta struggled with front-end issues and frantically searched for the right setup to reduce the gap, but he quite literally never managed to get a grip on his teammate. He was also frustrated with Saturday’s performance when summing up his weekend.
- Personally, I’m not satisfied. It could have been a much better result, and it was frustrating that the tyres weren’t performing better at this level, especially on Saturday. But Elfyn has driven all weekend fantastically, so congratulations to him, Katsuta said after the finish at Red Barn.
Evans shone by taking a total of xx stage wins over the weekend and was the star of what was otherwise a sensational weekend for the entire Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT squad.
The team locked out the top four positions, with a rock-solid Sami Pajari finishing third, 46 seconds behind Evans, and the popular Swedish hopeful Oliver Solberg in fourth, one minute and eleven seconds adrift.
Both Pajari and Solberg were blisteringly fast at times, the duo claiming two and three stage wins respectively over the weekend, demonstrating that the pace is certainly there.
It is also worth noting that the Toyota team dominated the other manufacturers this weekend. Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville and M-Sport Ford’s Mārtiņš Sesks took stage wins on Bäck SS7, Umeå SS18, and Sarsjöliden SS10.
The remaining stages were won by Toyota drivers, with Katsuta taking victories on Bydsiljum SS5 and Andersvattnet SS6.
It was a tough weekend for Hyundai. Lappi, who had not competed for a year and a half, finished fifth and still demonstrated his skill on snow. Adrien Fourmaux and Neuville finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
The M-Sport Ford team struggled with tyre choices, and Sesks retired on Friday, far from any discussion of overall positions. Nevertheless, he showed strong pace in the background and secured the team’s only stage win on Saturday. Jon Armstrong and Josh McErlean finished eighth and ninth, both just over three minutes off the winning time.