WRC
Preview: Evans-Pajari title fight takes centre stage as WRC heads to Chile
The WRC enters its decisive three-round run-in at Rally Chile BIOBÍO this week, with Elfyn Evans defending a 20-point lead against an in-form Sami Pajari chasing a fourth consecutive victory.
Pajari has transformed the complexion of the title race with a remarkable run of wins in Estonia, Finland and Paraguay, becoming the first driver in WRC history whose maiden three victories have come consecutively.
His latest success reduced Evans’ championship advantage from 30 points to 20, leaving the Toyota drivers separated by less than the maximum score available from a single rally with Chile, Italy and Saudi Arabia still to come. A total of 105 points remains available this season.
Yet Evans arrives in Concepción with history firmly on his side.
The Welshman has never finished outside the top five on Rally Chile’s four previous WRC editions, placing fourth in 2019, third in 2023 and runner-up in each of the past two years. Last season he finished just 11.0sec behind team-mate Sébastien Ogier - the closest winning margin yet seen on the event.
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Opening the road on Friday could nevertheless prove significant if conditions remain dry. Chile’s compact gravel can leave loose material on the surface for the first cars while becoming increasingly abrasive as the field passes through.
“The rally is generally quite a fast one with flowing stages that are usually good to drive, but the challenge depends a lot on the weather which can change quite dramatically during the weekend,” Evans explained.
“When it’s dry, the surface can be very loose for the early cars and it can also get extremely abrasive to the point that you really have to consider tyre management carefully. When it’s wet, it can get pretty muddy, similar to what you might find in Wales, and the fog can also make things extremely difficult.”
Pajari, meanwhile, has reason to feel equally comfortable on the roads of the Bíobío region. The 24-year-old has already contested Chile twice in Rally1 machinery and finished fifth last year.
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“We have been on a really nice run lately and I hope Rally Chile can be good for us as well,” he said. “It is a rally I know quite well now, as I’ve done it twice already in the Rally1 car, and it’s one of my favourites because of the profile of the stages.
“Some of them are pretty similar to Finland: really fast and flowing with some really nice camber that helps you take more speed through the corners. It can also be pretty challenging, with high tyre wear, and the weather can change really quickly.”
The fight stretches beyond the leading pair. Oliver Solberg is third, 41 points behind Evans, and steps into Rally1 machinery in Chile for the first time having twice won WRC2 on the event. He sealed last year’s WRC2 title there.
Ogier, sixth in the standings, returns as defending Rally Chile winner and will also equal Jari-Matti Latvala’s all-time record of 213 WRC starts when he begins the event. Takamoto Katsuta completes Toyota’s five-car Rally1 presence, with James Fulton standing in for the injured Aaron Johnston.
There could also be a major celebration for Toyota in the manufacturers’ championship. The Japanese marque carries a 173-point lead over Hyundai into round 12 and needs to score only seven points in Chile to guarantee another world title.
Hyundai, however, arrives with renewed momentum after demonstrating front-running pace in Paraguay, where Hayden Paddon finished second, Adrien Fourmaux third and the i20 N Rally1 claimed 10 stage victories.
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Fourmaux returns to a rally where he finished third last season and believes another attack at the front is possible, while Thierry Neuville - runner-up in Chile in 2023 - is joined by Esapekka Lappi in Hyundai’s third car.
“We know we were competitive there last year, and after the performance we had in Paraguay, the target is to fight at the front again and push for the best possible result,” Fourmaux said.
M-Sport Ford fields Josh McErlean and Chile debutant Jon Armstrong. McErlean arrives after equalling his career-best WRC result with sixth in Paraguay, while the team returns to the scene of its most recent world championship victory, achieved with Ott Tänak in 2023.
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Based around Concepción on Chile’s Pacific coast, the fifth WRC edition of Rally Chile BIOBÍO features 16 stages and 311.7 competitive kilometres through the forest roads of the region.
Friday brings a substantially reworked opening leg, with Turquía, Nuevo Rere and Hualqui each tackled twice. Saturday is the rally’s longest day at 139.2km and features the familiar Pelún, Lota and María las Cruces tests, before Sunday introduces the new 26.82km Carampangue stage alongside the returning BIOBÍO Wolf Power Stage.
Shakedown and the ceremonial start in Concepción’s Plaza de la Independencia take place on Thursday, before the championship battle resumes in earnest on Friday morning.
