Evans Hoping For Mexico Fiesta As Rally Bid Hots Up

Elfyn Evans is ready for his World Rally Championship challenge to hot up when he heads to Mexico.

The Dolgellau-born flier has finished sixth in Monte Carlo and Sweden on his return to the series.

But he is relishing the prospect of tacking the first proper tarmac and gravel rally of the season – starting on March 10 – having just finished a test in his DMACK Fiesta car in Spain.

The 28-year-old said: “We’ve had solid results on two of the more specialist events this year and I’m keen to get stuck into the traditional gravel and Tarmac rallies.

“Mexico can be one of the hottest events of the year, so physical preparation is very important. The high altitude and reduction in engine power also means you need to take a more focused and controlled approach.

The first gravel rally of the year will certainly be an interesting one and I think everyone is waiting with baited breath to see what they can do.

“The altitude makes this a really unique event and when you combine that with the high temperatures it’s a big challenge – for the crews and the cars.”

But the rally should hold no fears for Evans who finished fourth on his two previous visits with the M-Sport team.

He added: “We’ll need to be at the top of our game to contend with the physical demands, but we’ll also need to adapt our driving style to get 100 percent of the performance.

“Because of the thinner air, there’s a reduction in power and you need to be really smooth and not so aggressive behind the wheel.

“You’ve got to be so tidy at this event and keep momentum through the corners. If you scrub speed before a long straight or sequence of corners the engine doesn’t have the power to carry you though and you can lose a lot of time.

“We’ll have to wait and see how the conditions suit us, but I am looking forward to this one. It’s an event I’ve done well at in the past and a clever run can deliver results – it’s just a case of getting the balance between risk and speed just right.”

The new, more-powerful 2017 world rally cars have seen tyre manufacturers upgrade products to offer greater durability and performance.

For the Mexican action, DMACK will offer completely new specifications with enhanced compounds and construction.

The DMG+2 tyre, for world rally cars, features a new run-flat construction and upgraded soft and hard compounds to cope with the huge range of gravel conditions experienced across the WRC season.

Despite the usual hot temperatures in Mexico, the generally compact clay surfaces mean that compound grip is important and a tactical mix of hard and soft compounds is possible.

With 41 per cent of the total distance made up of competitive stages, Rally Mexico is one of the most compact rounds of the WRC. It’s also the highest as the route climbs to 2737m and that high altitude means engines struggle to breathe and power can be reduced by around 20 per cent.

Organisers have boosted the traditional spectacular opening ceremony with a move to Mexico City’s famous Zocalo main square. More than 200,000 fans are expected to pack it on Thursday evening to see two runs of the opening super-special stage.

Then on Friday it’s straight into the longest test, the 54.9km El Chocolate, in the Sierra de Guanajuato mountains. After a weekend of action, including the famous underground tunnel stage through colourful Guanajuato, the event finishes back in Leon on Sunday afternoon.

Dick Cormack, DMACK managing director, said: “DMACK had a successful season on gravel in 2016 and we’ve been working hard to improve on that and to develop more specific products for WRC 2 competitors.

“As the first gravel round of the series, Mexico will provide us with crucial information on the performance of our new products.”