Kalle Rovanpera has flashed his World Rally Championship title credentials with a superb display to win Rally Sweden.
The 21-year-old Finn outlasted his rivals to take victory by 22 seconds over Thierry Neuville, who gave Hyundai its first podium of the Rally1 era.
The returning Esapekka Lappi made it a Toyota Gazoo Racing one-three.
For much of the event, little had separated the top five or six; until a hybrid issue forced Ott Tanak to retire, Elfyn Evans crashed, and Oliver Solberg dropped back.
For Rovanpera, it marks the third win of his WRC career, and repeats the triumph his father Harri achieved in 2001.
He now sits 14 points clear at the top of the standings, with neither Sebastien Ogier nor Sebastien Loeb around in a full-time capacity to continue their strangleholds over the championship.
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“It feels very good to win here in Sweden,” said Rovanpera.
“It was a really nice fight the whole weekend. After being the first car on the road on Friday, this is a really good result.
“It was a bit of a pity that Elfyn went out this morning because it was a great fight, but otherwise it’s a very good result for the team.
“I struggled a bit in the first rally with this car in Monte Carlo, but now I felt much more confident over the whole weekend with the car.
“Big thanks to the team because it has been a big job for them to make the car better all the time and make me comfortable.”
Although victory ultimately proved elusive, Neuville was pleased with his result which elevates him to second in the championship.
“It’s a great feeling to take a podium here in Sweden, our first in the new hybrid era,” said the Belgian.
“It’s a bit unexpected after what we saw in Rallye Monte-Carlo, but the team has done a good job. My thanks go to everyone at the factory in Germany for pushing hard.
“We could already see in shakedown that the speed was not too bad, and it was a surprise to be leading the rally on Friday evening.
“After that, it was a bit more difficult to find the right set-up, but we had enough pace to keep our focus on the podium – and eventually secure second place.
“We now have one-and-a-half-months to prepare ourselves and the car for Croatia.
“These weeks will be very important, and there’s a lot of work to be done, but after this result we can look ahead to the upcoming events with more positivity.”
Rallye Monte-Carlo winner Loeb retains third in the points, ahead of Gus Greensmith, and Ogier.
M-Sport Ford recruit Craig Breen has dropped to seventh after a disappointing time of it in Umea, while 2019 champion Tanak (Hyundai) is 11th with just five points to his name – all of which came from winning the Rally Sweden power stage.
Rally Croatia is next up, across April 21-24.
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