Saturday WRC
Academy wrap:
Evans wins to
take title

Evans took the lead from Alastair Fisher on Saturday’s opening test. While Fisher and fellow title rival Brendan Reeves were delayed, Evans enjoyed two days of trouble-free running to clinch the coveted spoils.

He will now choose between a prize drive in Ford Fiesta R2 on all 13 rounds of next year’s world championship or a five-event campaign in a Fiesta S2000, once his title success is ratified by the FIA, motorsport’s world governing body.

“It’s fantastic, I can’t believe we’ve won it with one round to go,” said Evans, who was co-driven by fellow Welshman Phil Pugh. “Since Greece we’ve taken four wins on the trot, which is unbelievable. We’ll have to sit down and think carefully about [what prize we take up next year].

“We’ve had no problems today, we’ve had to be careful and it’s been a fine line between not pushing too much and being too cautious. It’s been a long day and I’ve tried not to make any mistakes.”

Behind Spaniard Jose Suarez, John MacCrone secured the final podium spot after dropping 20 seconds when he spun twice on Saturday’s opening stage.

Australian Reeves dropped out of contention with a puncture on day one but fought back to finish fourth after he demoted Swede Fredrik Ahlin for the place on the penultimate stage. Pontus Tidemand took sixth with Timo van der Marel seventh.

South African Ashley Haigh-Smith did not start the event due to financial reasons and has been excluded from the series in accordance with the regulations.