Elfin Evans (Great Britain, Toyota) triumphed in Rally Sweden of the World Rally Championship and topped the overall drivers' standings. The Welshman finished with a lead of 14.3 seconds over his teammate Takamoto Katsuta, while Sami Payari secured a triple victory for the Japanese team, BTA reports.
This is the second consecutive triple podium for Toyota, after Oliver Solberg, Evans and Sébastien Ogier took the podium in the Monte Carlo Rally. The last such achievement was achieved by Citroen in 2010.
With his success, Evans now leads the drivers' standings by 13 points ahead of Solberg, who finished fourth in his home race after problems on Friday. He was followed by Hyundai drivers – Adrian Formeau, Esapeka Lappi and Thierry Neuville, followed by Ford's John Armstrong and Joshua McIlroy.
Evans started the final day with a 13.3-second lead over Katsuta and managed to control the pace in the final three stages. In the power stage, he finished second, only trailing Neuville by a slim 0.078 seconds.
“I feel a huge sense of relief and joy. We did a great job, but the credit goes to the whole team. To have three drivers on the podium is incredible, and in Sweden it's even more special. It's a great rally for many reasons,“ said Evans, quoted by WRC.