Toyota's Elfyn Evans leads WRC Rally Sweden after an intense Friday battle that saw multiple lead changes across seven snow-and-ice stages, with just 9.1 seconds separating the top five drivers.

Evans set the morning pace in his GR Yaris Rally1, though teammate Takamoto Katsuta and Hyundai's Ott Tanak both briefly held the lead during the afternoon stages. As darkness fell and worn studded tires hampered Tanak, Evans reclaimed top spot, finishing just 0.6s ahead of Katsuta, with Tanak 2.5s behind in third.

Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux impressed with two stage wins and runs fourth, 7.9s off the lead. Reigning champion Thierry Neuville sits fifth despite early understeer issues, while two-time champion Kalle Rovanpera had an unusually quiet day to end sixth in his Toyota.

M-Sport Ford's Martiņs Sesks showed promise on his return with two top-three stage times, finishing seventh ahead of teammate Josh McErlean. Toyota's Sami Pajari and M-Sport's Gregoire Munster completed the top 10.

In WRC2, local hero Oliver Solberg dominated in his new Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, winning five stages despite reporting handling issues. He leads Roope Korhonen by 23.8s.

Saturday's leg features seven more high-speed stages covering 63.36 competitive miles around Umea.

Current standings after Friday:

1. Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota) 1h08m36.5s
2. Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota) +0.6s
3. Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai) +2.5s
4. Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai) +7.9s
5. Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai) +9.1s
6. Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota) +25.5s
7. Martins Sesks/Renars Francis (Ford) +43.6s
8. Joshua McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford) +1m02.6s
9. Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota) +1m10.6s
10. Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford) +1m22.5s
11. Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota - WRC2) +3m16.2s

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