Elfyn Evans finished fifth overall at Rally Sweden, after working during the rally to improve his feeling with the car in the tricky conditions.

This culminated in the second-best time in the Power Stage, just 0.6 seconds from the fastest time and 0.015s quicker than Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mate Kalle Rovanperä, which keeps the Dolgellau driver fourth in the championship.

The rally was won by Ott Tänak who secured a pivotal win on Sunday afternoon – ending M-Sport Ford’s victory drought on only his second FIA World Rally Championship event since returning to the team.

Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team continues to lead the manufacturers’ standings after round two, despite narrowly missing out on a podium finish following a closely-fought weekend on snow and ice.

Rovanperä finished in fourth position, just 5.1 seconds from third, after fighting hard until the very last stage.

Warmer conditions meant that last year’s Rally Sweden winner was at a greater disadvantage this time running first on the road on Friday, but he fought back well to begin the final day only 3.8s away from a podium position.

That gap was further reduced to 1.1s thanks to a stage win in Sunday’s opening test, but rival Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) responded on the next stage and managed to hold on to the place.

With an extra three bonus points for the third-fastest time on the rally-ending Power Stage, Rovanperä remains second in the drivers’ championship, only three points behind leader Ott Tänak (M-Sport Ford).

Evans said: “This has been a tough weekend and not what we hoped and worked for.

“Personally I have struggled to feel really confident in the car and on the back of that we made a couple of errors as well.

“In that sense I’m happy to at least come away with some points, but we come to rallies aiming for better performances and results than this.

“There are a few areas we will review after the event and work on for the future, but Sweden is always a very specific event.

“Now the focus needs to switch to gravel and I’m looking forward to Mexico.”

The WRC returns to Rally México for the first time since 2020 on 16-19 March.

The first gravel event of the season features temperatures in the region of 30°C, and high altitude is also a major factor with a route that peaks at 2,747 metres above sea level.

PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, RALLY SWEDEN

1 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID) 2h25m54.5s

2 Craig Breen/James Fulton (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +18.7s

3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +20.0s

4 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +25.1s

5 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +1m24.0s

6 Pierre-Louis Loubet/Nicolas Gilsoul (Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID) +5m59.0s

7 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +7m42.4s

8 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +7m48.1s

9 Ole Christian Veiby/Torstein Eriksen (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5) +8m30.4s

10 Sami Pajari/Enni Mälkönen (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +9m03.2s

Retired Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID)