Evans Rolls The Dice In Monte Carlo

By Paul Evans

M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin continue to hold a strong sixth place after rolling the dice with a brave tyre choice this afternoon.

With their EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta WRC less than 30 seconds adrift of the podium, Rallye Monte-Carlo is far from over and there remains all to play for.

Taking four of Michelin’s Pilot Alpin Soft tyres and two studded tyres into the afternoon loop, the Evans knew that he would lose time on the first stage (SS6) – a long stretch of compacted ice demanding a cautious drive from the 30-year old Dolgellau star.

But the conditions came to him on the next test (SS7) where Evans set the second fastest time. In hindsight, a cross of the two tyre types on the final stage (SS8) would have provided the optimum configuration for the loop as a whole, but nothing ventured nothing gained and the team can remain upbeat on another positive day at the office.

“We had a pretty good day behind the wheel, but were maybe just a little bit too brave on the tyre choice this afternoon,” admitted Evans. “It’s all part of the game and it was certainly nice to get a feeling for the car on pure Tarmac with full Tarmac tyres again [on SS7]. The rest of the day has been pretty tricky and we lost a bit too much time on the icy sections, but that’s what this rally is all about. We’re still here, and we’ll keep at it tomorrow.”

“We’ve seen another strong performance from Elfyn and Scott today,” said M-Sport Team Principal, Richard Millener. “We decided to take a bit of a risk with the tyre choice this afternoon – losing time in the first stage but then setting the second fastest time on the second. In hindsight, we didn’t get the combination quite right for the last stage but it’s still been a positive afternoon.

“The conditions for tomorrow look tricky again and hopefully there’ll be an opportunity to take some more time back. We just need to keep doing what we’re doing and see how far up the leader board we can get.”

Monte Carlo Rally – top eight after SS8
1. Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (Citroen C3 WRC) 1:37:17.3
2. Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +2.0
3. Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jaeger (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +1:17.7
4. Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1:25.1
5. Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +1:25.9
6. Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin (Ford Fiesta WRC) +1:47.5
7. Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) +2:34.9
8. Kris Meeke / Sebastian Marshall (Toyota Yaris WRC) +5:33.0