WRC Rally Sweden 2026 Review

Drew Bentham
9 hours ago
7 min read

Solberg returned home as a hunted man on the lightning-fast WRC Rally Sweden

Sub-zero temperatures created ideal conditions for the second round of the WRC. Oliver Solberg returned home to Rally Sweden (12 - 15 February) with the championship lead in hand, but he also faced the challenging task of clearing the road for what was expected to be one of the fastest winter events in FIA World Rally Championship history.

After a landmark victory at the season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo last month, the 24-year-old Toyota GAZOO Racing driver arrived in Umeå not only as the local favorite but also as the competitor everyone wanted to catch. The scenario was almost perfectly set, yet the challenge ahead was far from simple as Solberg explained.

"Leading the championship at my home rally is something unbelievable that I couldn’t have imagined. It’s an incredible feeling, but I’m still approaching everything rally by rally. Rally Sweden has always been my favorite rally of the year - it’s the most fun you can have in a rally car."

A prolonged cold spell across the Västerbotten region has provided a solid frozen base for the stages. Grip levels were expected to be high as were the average speeds, however, there is a twist. With less fresh snowfall than in previous years, the famous snowbanks were lower and less forgiving. The soft cushions drivers often rely on to maneuver the car at high speed would offer much less room for error this time.

For Solberg, his road position adds another layer of complexity.

"Starting first on the road in Sweden might not always be the best position," he admitted. "Maybe on some stages, I can have an advantage, and on others, maybe not. I can only hope for good conditions, do my best, and drive as fast as I can."

Hyundai Motorsport arrived determined to make a comeback. Thierry Neuville, the 2024 world champion, was joined by Adrien Fourmaux and Esapekka Lappi - a former Sweden winner who returned to the event where he triumphed in 2024. Starting further down the order, Lappi could benefit from cleaner lines on Friday’s opening leg.

Two-time Sweden winner Elfyn Evans was eager to respond after narrowly missing out at round one, while Takamoto Katsuta and Sami Pajari weren't there just to make up the numbers. Privateer Lorenzo Bertelli, from Italy, completes a formidable GR Yaris Rally1 presence.

Friday

Takamoto Katsuta edged ahead of Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mate Elfyn Evans to lead Rally Sweden by 2.8sec on Friday night, capping a day of fluctuating fortunes on the fast, snow-lined roads around Umeå.

The Japanese driver headed a commanding Toyota 1-2-3 after eight stages, with Sami Pajari completing the lockout as the GR Yaris Rally1 proved the benchmark package from first light to the floodlit Umeå Sprint.

Friday’s complexion shifted dramatically before midday. Championship leader Oliver Solberg had started the morning on top, but his hopes of a fairytale home win took a hit on SS3 (Andersvattnet 1). Running first on the road, he suffered sudden snap oversteer and slid wide into a snowbank, damaging a tyre and haemorrhaging more than 30sec.

“I went off the road, there was so much snow everywhere,” he said. “I completely underestimated how difficult it would be to be first on the road.”

That opened the door for Evans, who seized control through the remainder of the morning loop. Comfortable on the cleaner line left by Solberg, the Welshman built a 14.5sec cushion by midday as Toyota established a firm grip on proceedings.

But the afternoon told a different story. As the frozen base began to break up and ruts deepened on the second pass, Katsuta mounted a measured charge. He chipped away at Evans’ lead stage by stage before moving in front by just 0.1sec on SS7. A composed run through the final Umeå Sprint ensured he returned to service with a slender but significant advantage.

“It was quite a tricky afternoon but I think we did a good job saving the tyres,” Katsuta said. “The second pass was very rough in places, so I just tried to be clean.”

Behind them, Pajari delivered one of the standout performances of the day. The Finn balanced pace with tyre management to cement third overall, 22.2sec off the lead. For Hyundai Motorsport, the day proved frustrating. Returning Finn Esapekka Lappi headed the squad in fourth, 45.9sec down on the leaders, although he described the feeling as “drifting” rather than attacking.

Adrien Fourmaux sat fifth, just 0.7sec ahead of the recovering Solberg, while Thierry Neuville was slowed by an off-road moment on SS3 and ended seventh, over 1min 40sec adrift. The Belgian did, however, manage to break Toyota’s stage-winning sweep by going fastest on the penultimate test.

It was an even tougher story at M-Sport Ford. All three Puma Rally1 cars were hit by tyre issues during the morning loop. Mārtiņš Sesks was forced to retire after multiple failures, while Jon Armstrong and Joshua McErlean languished eighth and ninth respectively as WRC2 leader Roope Korhonen rounded out the top 10.

Saturday’s leg was shorter but no less daunting, with a further seven stages totalling more than 100km on the itinerary.

Standings after Friday (SS8 /18):

1. T Katsuta / A Johnston JPN Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 1h 10m 33.7s

2. E Evans / S Martin GBR Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +2.8s

3. S Pajari / M Salminen FIN Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +22.2s

4. E Lappi / E Mälkönen FIN Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +45.9s

5. A Fourmaux / A Coria FRA Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +50.3s

6. O Solberg / E Edmondson SWE Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +51.0s

A much improved performance from the MSport stable

Saturday

Elfyn Evans carried a 13.3sec advantage into Sunday’s finale at Rally Sweden after a commanding Saturday drive placed Toyota Gazoo Racing firmly in control of the podium positions on the snow. The Welshman turned a 2.8sec overnight deficit into a slender but decisive cushion over team-mate Takamoto Katsuta, with Sami Pajari completing a GR Yaris Rally1 1-2-3 after another assured display from the Finn.

The rally swung immediately on SS9 Vännäs 1. Evans struck hard on the opening test, outpacing overnight leader Katsuta by 7.2sec to pass the Japanese driver and seize a 4.4sec advantage. Evans stretching the gap to 18.0sec by SS13 before Katsuta used the final two tests to trim the margin back to 13.3sec heading into the final leg.

“This morning was pretty good but this afternoon was a bit more mixed,” Evans said. “Looking after the tyres was a bit more difficult and not my speciality, but it had still been a clean afternoon.”

Katsuta, chasing what would have been his maiden WRC victory, struggled to explain a sudden loss of feeling from the car as the day unfolded.

“I felt like I had no traction and no grip. I didn’t know why. It was so strange,” he admitted.

Behind them, Pajari underlined his growing authority at Rally1 level. Fastest times on SS12 and SS14 consolidated third overall, 25.4sec adrift of the lead but comfortably clear of the fight behind. Early favourite Oliver Solberg continued his recovery from Friday’s time loss to climb from sixth to fourth, 58.4sec down. The Swede found conditions increasingly challenging as the loose snow base broke up.

“It had been a tricky afternoon, difficult to find the rhythm and the confidence,” the championship leader said. “It was like an ice rink in places.”

It proved another challenging day for Hyundai Motorsport. Esapekka Lappi ended Saturday fifth, 1min 09.5sec from the lead, with Adrien Fourmaux sixth after experimenting with aggressive damper changes in search of pace. Thierry Neuville, seventh, topped the times on the final stage of the day but conceded performance remained elusive.

“That was all we had at the moment, but at least we had a bit of fun,” Neuville reflected.

Saturday delivered a breakthrough for M-Sport Ford. Mārtiņš Sesks impressed on SS10 Sarsjöliden 1 (14.23km), beating Evans by 0.9sec to claim his eighth WRC stage win in a Ford Puma Rally1. He later managed water-pressure warnings but reached the overnight halt safely. Team-mate Jon Armstrong held eighth overall, while Josh McErlean overcame intermittent light-pod issues at high speed to hold ninth ahead of WRC2 leader Roope Korhonen.

Standings after Saturday (SS15 /18):

1. E Evans / S Martin GBR Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 2h 05m 14.6s
2. T Katsuta / A Johnston JPN Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +13.3s
3. S Pajari / M Salminen FIN Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +25.4s
4. O Solberg / E Edmondson SWE Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +58.4s
5. E Lappi / E Mälkönen FIN Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +1m 09.5s
6. A Fourmaux / A Coria FRA Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +1m 17.7s

Martins Sesks made up from an earlier puncture with a stage win and promising performance

Sunday

By the end of Sunday's proceedings, it was clear Hyundai's troubles were intensifying with all the team drivers dejected and without answers for their lack of relative performance. Neuville's bad luck had clearly continued throughout the event, losing a chunk of time when he went off and suffered a misted screen and losing yet more, with a penalty for not tightening up his helmet strap. They will of course try to find something for Safari.

MSport had had a far better outing in Sweden showing a strong pace improvement for both drivers. Part time driver Martins Sesks was unlucky early on with the puncture but completed the rally in strong form, even taking a stage win on Saturday.

But it was the Toyotas who showed their class and dominance. Evans had barely put a foot wrong all weekend and his Sunday was no different. Despite a stunning drive on the power stage, he missed out on the power stage win by just 0.1sec to Neuville. He won't have been bothered too much by that as he took both the overall and Super Sunday wins, his second on the bounce in Sweden and his first win since the Safari last year. Toyota occupied the top 4 spots and another top 3 lock out.

Standings after Saturday (SS18 /18):