Evans: Upcoming rallies to suit Yaris

The Welshman endured a challenging May, starting when co-driver Scott Martin had to read pacenotes from his phone for two stages on the first day at Vodafone Rally de Portugal, after misplacing his original copy at a stop control.

A tyre delamination and a small spin on day two were compounded by temperature issues on the final day that forced the Toyota GAZOO Racing star into EV mode mid-way through the penultimate stage, where he worked on fixing the car at the stop control. 

The eight-time WRC event winner's luck did not improve in Sardinia, with a puncture on SS1 and a tyre off the rim in SS8. Moreover, he struggled with the feeling in the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 on both events.

“[Sardinia was] a very difficult weekend for us but Sunday was a bit better. I would say the feeling has definitely improved and I think the times and the points we got from the day showed that,” opined the 35-year-old, noting that Super Sunday points offered a glimmer of hope. 

“It’s clear looking at the weekend overall that we still have a lot of work to do to improve in rallies with conditions like this one.”

There is a light at the end of the tunnel for Evans however, with fast gravel rallies in Orlen 80^th Rally Poland, Tet Rally Latvia and Secto Rally Finland all just round the corner.

The Dolgellau native was quick to play up the strength of the Yaris on this profile of events, as the WRC looks set to become even tighter at the top in the coming months.

“The characteristics now change to something quite different for the next three rallies. 

“We know the car can be strong on fast rallies like these and it will be important to prepare as best we can and try to find confidence early.”