(Reuters) - Toyota's Elfyn Evans won Rally Sweden on Sunday to take over at the top of the world championship standings from absent team mate Sebastien Ogier.
Japan's Takamoto Katsuta made it a team one-two, 3.8 seconds behind the Welshman, in the snow event around the northeast city of Umea with Hyundai's reigning world champion Thierry Neuville third and a further 8.1 adrift.
The win, in the second round of the season, was the 10th of Evans' world championship career.
"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," he said.
Evans had led Katsuta overnight by three seconds and stretched that to the finish, after falling behind in the day's opening stage, to take maximum bonus points for a final stage victory and a weekend haul of 35 points.
The Toyota driver, who was runner-up to eight-times world champion Ogier in last month's Monte Carlo opener, now has 61 points to Ogier's 33 with double world champion team mate Kalle Rovanpera on 31 and Neuville on 29.
Ogier is competing only part-time this season.
Toyota lead the manufacturer standings with 120 points to Hyundai's 72.
"Unfortunately, I was not able to find the victory this time," said Katsuta, who is still waiting for his first championship success.
"Elfyn did a great stage time on the last one, so hats off to Elfyn...I'm disappointed I didn't win but it's OK this time."
Estonia's Ott Tanak was fourth for Hyundai with Rovanpera fifth and Latvian Martins Seks sixth for M-Sport Ford.
The next round on the schedule is Kenya's Safari Rally from March 20-23.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Ed Osmond)
