Elfyn Evans Relaxed Even Though His WRC Lead Has Been Cut After Sardinia

Elfyn Evans at Rally Sardinia. Pic. Alamy

His lead at the top of the World Rally Championship may have been trimmed, but Elfyn Evans is not too concerned.

Elfyn Evans continues to lead the World Rally Championship, but his advantage has narrowed after a challenging weekend in Sardinia, where Toyota teammate Sébastien Ogier claimed victory in dramatic fashion.

The Welshman finished fourth in Rally Italia Sardegna, over five minutes behind Ogier, who became the most successful driver in the event’s history with his fifth win.

It was a demanding rally for Evans, who opened the road on Friday and suffered a puncture on Saturday, but he still managed to limit the damage to his title ambitions.

“Overall we have to be satisfied with how our weekend has turned out,” Evans said.

“Fourth was realistically as much as we could expect starting first on the road on Friday.

“This is always a rally full of attrition and getting to the end without big issues was vital.”

Ogier, who now trails Evans by just 19 points in the championship standings, showed typical poise throughout the rally but had a scare on the final stage when an overshoot in deep ruts forced him to reverse.

He still held on to seal victory by 7.9 seconds from Hyundai’s Ott Tänak.

“In the ruts, I just couldn't turn the car,” Ogier said.

“There was no speed at all, so I didn't try to force it and hit it, I preferred to stop and reverse. Yeah, not ideal, still, it was enough to win.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing's dominance continued, with all six of its drivers finishing in the top seven, and the team extending its lead in the manufacturers’ standings.

Kalle Rovanperä completed the podium in third and put in a blistering performance on the Power Stage to top the Super Sunday classification.

Despite not challenging for the podium, Evans was encouraged by his team’s progress during the rally.

“The pace of the top three was pretty hot but the positive thing is that we did make clear progress through the rally in terms of feeling, especially in second-pass conditions, so that gives us some positives to take forward to Greece,” he said.

The drivers will next face similar conditions at the Acropolis Rally in Greece from June 26–29, where Evans will look to maintain his slender championship advantage as the season approaches its halfway mark.