Evans Finishes Top Brit With Sixth Place in Monte Carlo Rally

Elfyn Evans made a points scoring return to the World Rally Championship after finishing sixth in Monte Carlo.

The Dolgellau-born flier had won three out of four special stages on Saturday in his Ford Fiesta RS.

Evans finished six minutes 45 seconds behind fellow M-Sport driver Sebastien Ogier who won on his debut for the Cumbria-based team.

The 28-year-old was returning to the WRC after a year in WRC2 last year and will be boosted by finishing top British driver.

Evans’ Fiesta is using DMACK tyres this year with Ogier and Estonia’s Ott Tanak – who was third – on Michelins.

As he admitted during a break in the action on Sunday: “This is rallying at its cruellest, we were like bambi on ice! It’s tricky.

“We had high hopes for the year but everything is new.

“Everything has come together quickly. Obviously Friday wasn’t our day but afterwards i think we’ve shown what we can do.”

He had struggled on the icy conditions on Friday putting him down the leaderboard.

But Evans showed he had lost none of his pace as he blasted to the three stage wins in the Alps.

Evans spent Friday running among the WRC2 cars as the DMACK tyres struggled for grip on the ice.

But as conditions improved, the rubber came alive and three stage wins on Saturday allowed him back through to an eventual sixth place.

The conditions proved tricky with the likes of Northern Ireland’s Kris Meeke and long-time leader Thierry Neuville both crashing.

The start of the WRC’s new era was overshadowed by the death of a spectator on the first stage on Thursday night in an accident involving Hayden Paddon’s Hyundai.

Fears for crowd safety saw Sunday’s penultimate stage cancelled with too many fans lining the road.