Following an injury lay-off due to a bike crash in December, Elfyn Evans will return to testing for Toyota next week
Toyota driver Elfyn Evans is ready for the 2024 World Rally Championship (WRC) season opener, Rally Monte-Carlo (January 25-28). The Welshman, who had to take a forced break in December after suffering a rib injury in a bicycle crash, will be back in the Yaris GR Rally1 next week for a Toyota test
“We have not changed our plan. Elfyn will test with the other drivers,” Toyota team boss Jari-Matti Latvala is quoted as saying by WRC.com. Evans suffered the injury at the beginning of December and therefore had to cancel his participation in the official FIA victory ceremony in Baku.
Evans also missed a test on snow in Finland due to the rib injury. For Latvala, however, this is not a major disadvantage. “He missed some driving time in Finland last month, but that was more of a preparation for Sweden,” he says.
“I don’t think he missed much. Taka [Takamoto Katusta] stepped in for him so we could drive the car. Now Elfyn returns for the pre-event test to make sure he is ready for the start of the season,” Latvala continued.
Evans had to admit defeat to his team-mate Kalle Rovanperä in the battle for the 2023 WRC title. As the Finn will not be contesting the full WRC season this year, Evans is considered the number one contender for the title.
Toyota has not yet announced the driver line-up for the Rally Monte-Carlo. However, it is expected that Sebastien Ogier will contest his home rally alongside the two full-time drivers Evans and Katsuta, while Rovanperä will skip the season opener.