PuraVida Sports

Umeå, Sweden, Monday:

Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala has lauded his squad’s perfect start to the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship, with back-to-back victories cementing an early advantage. 

The reigning manufacturers’ champions have already pulled 48 points clear of Hyundai Motorsport following dominant performances at both Rallye Monte-Carlo and last week’s Rally Sweden. 

In Sweden, Elfyn Evans led a Toyota 1-2, edging out teammate Takamoto Katsuta by 3.8 seconds in a dramatic finale.
“For our team to have scored the maximum 120 points from the first two rallies, we literally cannot have asked for a better start to the season,” Latvala said. “We are looking forward to Safari Rally Kenya.”

Before shifting focus to the championship’s first gravel round in Kenya next month, Latvala took a moment to reflect on the intense battle that unfolded in Sweden.
“This has been an incredibly close Rally Sweden, and it was a nerve-wracking final day for us, watching two of our drivers fighting for the win,” he said.

“We saw that [mental strength] from Elfyn in the way he responded on the penultimate stage after losing the lead, and Taka has shown that he is ready to win. He maintained a great performance under pressure without making mistakes.”

As a lifelong rally fan, Latvala was captivated by what he described as one of the closest and most thrilling editions of Rally Sweden in history.

“There were only a few seconds between the top drivers for the whole rally, and to fight like this for three days is remarkable. But I was nervous [on Sunday]. “Overall, I think Taka was in a new position, fighting for victory, and we could see Elfyn was maybe a bit too nervous in the morning and struggling a bit. And with such a tense fight – when even Neuville and Tänak were not that far off – a small mistake, like clipping a snowbank or spinning, could easily cost five or 10 seconds and a place on the podium.

“That’s why I was a bit worried. When you have two team-mates fighting so closely, there’s always the risk that one of them will make a mistake. I’m really proud of both Elfyn and Taka for the way they fought, and for how strong they have been mentally.” After four days of intense action on Umeå’s frozen stages, Evans delivered when it mattered most – shutting the door on Katsuta in a dramatic final-day shootout to claim his 10th career WRC win by 3.8 seconds.

Starting Sunday with a razor-thin 3.0 seconds advantage, the Welshman briefly lost the lead as Katsuta came out firing, producing a 7.5 seconds stage win on Västervik’s opening run. 

But Evans and co-driver Scott Martin were quick to respond.

They fought back in style on the repeated run that followed, setting the benchmark time to reclaim control by 3.7 seconds before hammering home their advantage with a commanding drive through the rally-ending Wolf Power Stage – sealing victory as Katsuta held off Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, who finished 11.9 seconds back from the top spot in third.
The result moved Evans to the top of the FIA World Rally Championship standings with a lead of 28 points after two of 14 rounds, building on his runner-up finish at the season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo last month.

“It’s been a very good weekend, but I made life very difficult for myself on that first stage this morning,” Evans smiled.

“At least it focused the mind. We had a good run over the last couple of stages and obviously we’re very happy with the end result.
“Championship-wise, it’s been a very good start. Obviously, it’s very early days but I don’t think you could wish for much better than this.”

Neuville, the reigning champion, had to work hard to secure the final podium spot, fending off resurgent team-mate Ott Tänak by just 4.9 seconds. 

Tänak, hindered by an engine mapping issue on his i20 N Rally1 on Saturday, was back to form for Super Sunday and third only to Evans and Katsuta in outright pace across the final day.

Two-time WRC champion Kalle Rovanperä endured a frustrating weekend, struggling to find his usual rhythm. The Toyota star claimed just one stage win across the rally’s 18 tests and ultimately trailed Tänak by 16.0 seconds as he settled for fifth place.
Mārtiņš Sesks delivered a solid performance on his WRC return, securing sixth place as M-Sport Ford’s top finisher. 

The Latvian ended the rally 17.6 seconds ahead of Toyota’s Sami Pajari, while Josh McErlean – who had been running eighth – slid down the order after getting his Puma Rally1 stuck in a snowbank on the first stage of the day.Grégoire Munster inherited eighth from team-mate McErlean as WRC2 frontrunners Oliver Solberg and Roope Korhonen completed the top 10.
The FIA World Rally Championship heads to Africa next for the legendary Safari Rally Kenya, round three of the season, from March 20 to 23. (WRC.com)