Feb 15 (Reuters) - Elfyn Evans won Rally Sweden and took over at the top of the world championship on Sunday as Toyota filled the top four places.
Evans had held a slender 13.3-second lead over Japanese teammate Takamoto Katsuta overnight and extended it by another second at the finish, with Finnish driver Sami Pajari third and Sweden's Oliver Solberg fourth.
Toyota also filled the top three places in the season-opening Monte Carlo rally and the back-to-back podium lockouts were the first since Citroen in 2010.
Evans, winner in Sweden for two years in a row, now has 60 points and leads Solberg by 13, with Katsuta a further 17 behind.
The Welshman and Katsuta each won a stage on the snow-covered roads in Sunday morning’s loop but Evans made sure of the win in the final Power Stage.
"It’s an incredible feeling to drive on these fast stages in such nice winter conditions and when you feel good in the car, it’s always a pleasure," said Evans.
"We didn’t have a huge margin coming into the final day and with so many points available on Sundays, we had to push until the end but we can be very happy with what we came away with. It’s been a great start to the year."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; editing by Clare Fallon)
