Welshman Elfyn Evans climbed to the lead of the World Rally Championship standings for the first time in his career after a dominant Rally Sweden victory for Toyota.

Evans, taking his second WRC win after victory in 2017’s Rally GB, ensured the first success for a British driver in Sweden and it came after he topped five stages. The rally was shortened due to unseasonably warm weather and a lack of snow and ice, forcing the 21-stage rally to reduce from 205 miles to 150 after sections were cancelled before and during the event.

Evans’s win puts him level with Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville on 42 points, and the Sweden podium places were completed by defending champion Ott Tänak – bouncing back from his season-opening huge Monte Carlo rally crash – and an impressive Kalle Rovanperä who stole third from team-mate Sébastien Ogier on the final stage.