Toyota's Elfyn Evans leads a tightly-contested WRC Rally Sweden after an intense Friday battle that saw multiple lead changes across seven snow-and-ice stages. Just 9.1 seconds separate the top five drivers.

The day featured constantly shifting fortunes on solid-ice surfaces lined with snow banks. Evans set the early pace in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, though Toyota teammate Takamoto Katsuta and Hyundai's Ott Tanak both briefly held the lead during the afternoon stages.

As darkness fell on the final stages, Evans reclaimed top position when Tanak lost time on worn studded tires. Katsuta sits just 0.6 seconds behind Evans, with Tanak 2.5 seconds off the lead in third.

Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux impressed with two stage wins and holds fourth, 7.9 seconds back, despite a stall on one stage. Reigning champion Thierry Neuville rounds out the top five, 9.1 seconds behind Evans after struggling with understeer early on.

Two-time WRC champion Kalle Rovanpera had an unusually quiet day, finishing sixth in his Toyota. M-Sport Ford's Martiņs Sesks showed promise on his return to Rally1 with two top-three stage times for seventh place.

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

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

Leading positions after Friday:

1. Elfyn Evans (Toyota) 1h08m36.5s
2. Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota) +0.6s
3. Ott Tanak (Hyundai) +2.5s
4. Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai) +7.9s
5. Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) +9.1s
6. Kalle Rovanpera (Toyota) +25.5s
7. Martins Sesks (Ford) +43.6s
8. Joshua McErlean (Ford) +1m02.6s
9. Sami Pajari (Toyota) +1m10.6s
10. Gregoire Munster (Ford) +1m22.5s
11. Oliver Solberg (Toyota - WRC2) +3m16.2s

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