Here's the thing about rallying: you can do everything right, feel completely at one with the machine, and still have the gods rip it away on a Sunday afternoon. That is precisely what happened to the Toyota Gazoo Racing driver in Chile. He looked utterly poised to stretch his championship lead heading into the final two rounds of the season. Friday brought rain, and he used it brilliantly, briefly holding the rally lead before slotting into second behind eventual winner and Toyota team-mate Oliver Solberg.
Everything was tracking to plan as he held a healthy second place and topped the Super Sunday standings. Then drama struck on Stage 15. Out of nowhere, disaster hit the front-left corner. Forced to stop and change a damaged tyre, the Welshman watched his hard work unravel. The delay dropped him all the way to fifth, finishing one spot behind his main title rival Sami Pajari.
It was a great performance from Oliver and they have had a really strong weekend, and they are very much in the mix as well, but we are still in an okay position and we will continue to fight on.
“It was all going well and it was going to plan, and I felt pretty good in the car and out of nowhere I felt something go on the front left. Normally we have TPMS [tyre pressure warning system] but it happened to be picking up the spare [wheel] actually on that corner. We didn’t get any warning and then there was a bit of doubt, but clearly again it was a puncture and I have no idea where,” said Evans. He pointed out the sheer cruelty of rally luck, noting that while others caught punctures in forgiving spots just a kilometre from the end of a stage with minimal time loss, his own misfortune arrived without warning or mercy.
Despite the gut punch, he salvaged what he could with a gutsy drive to second on the Power Stage, banking four extra points. Even so, the damage to the standings is stark. His championship lead has been slashed to 17 points over Pajari, while Chile winner Solberg has surged firmly into contention, now sitting just 21 points adrift.
“There is no silver lining, definitely not. But I think it was a decent performance up until today, it was a solid drive and we were doing everything we needed to do. The feeling was good in the car but to get a puncture like that with no indication is very frustrating,” Evans admitted.
Now, the championship is a wide-open three-way fight with only 21 points covering the top contenders across the remaining two rounds. Yet amidst the personal frustration, he made sure to tip his hat to the broader squad after Toyota secured a record-equalling 10th WRC manufacturers’ title.
“It was very costly in terms of points but we took what we could from the Power Stage and we just have to keep pushing in what’s now a three-way fight in the championship,” added Evans. “It was a great performance from Oliver and they have had a really strong weekend, and they are very much in the mix as well, but we are still in an okay position and we will continue to fight on.”
“I think it is a massive reward for everyone who is working to give us these great cars and I think it shows the strength of the team that we managed to do it with two rounds to spare. A huge thank you to everyone in the team.”
