Elfyn Evans had to concede defeat to world champion Kalle Rovanperä – The Toyota driver is “annoyed” with some moments and mistakes this season
Elfyn Evans had to abandon his slim title hopes at the Rally Central Europe after an accident. Toyota teammate Kalle Rovanperä’s second place was enough to celebrate another WRC title. “From our side, we knew the chance was slim,” Evans says. “We had to try, and unfortunately it didn’t work out. “
Although Evans’ title chances were already very slim before the Rally Central Europe, the Welshman believes the decision for this year’s WRC title would have remained open until the finale in Japan if the Toyota driver had beaten his teammate in the asphalt stages in the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria.
However, the 34-year-old went off the track on the eleventh stage and crashed into a barn door. This damaged his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 so badly that he was unable to finish the special stage. However, that was not the only reason for the WRC defeat, as Evans says he has lost the WRC title before, including in Portugal and Estonia.
Evans in Portugal with “stupid accident “
Before the Portugal Rally, the Toyota driver was leading the overall standings, however, the Welshman had a serious accident on the seventh special stage. “Certainly I had [some regrets] during the season, I mean Portugal,” Evans reminded Motorsport.com. “And although it was a really big accident, it was also a bit of a stupid accident.”
“Sometimes it’s okay to be brave, but stupid and brave isn’t so smart, so that was one,” the current WRC runner-up is self-critical about the accident. “I think there are a few areas that we definitely could have done better.”
There are also other moments this season that Evans is struggling with in hindsight. “Looking back, I’m annoyed about Estonia because if I’d had the feeling I had with the car in Finland, it could have been very different,” believes the Toyota driver, who finished fourth in Estonia.
Evans has already celebrated two victories this year, in Finland and Croatia. “Finland was so easy, but Estonia was such a struggle,” recalls the 34-year-old. “If we’d had the car two weeks earlier, that would have helped a lot. “
Praise for Toyota teammate Rovanperä
Nonetheless, Evans also has words for his opponent, who can now call himself the youngest double world champion in WRC history. “First and foremost, I’d like to congratulate Kalle,” says the Welshman. “He has driven an incredible season and he deserves it.”
“Here [at the Central Europe Rally] on Friday there was no chance of following Kalle because I think the track position gave you an advantage of about five seconds per stage,” Evans surmises. “But we also know how good he is in these difficult conditions, his style seems to fit very well. “
“At least things are moving in the right direction. Even from my side, there was more progress on asphalt in this rally, and I know we won in Croatia, but we had a little better form here. “
“Things are moving in the right direction “
Overall, Evans is pleased with his season this year, as the Toyota driver was able to make significant progress compared to last year and often put pressure on his teammate. “I keep saying things are changing for the better. It was bad almost two years ago, so at least things are moving in the right direction,” he says.
“It’s just the feeling of confidence and the fact that the car is doing a bit more of what I want,” the 34-year-old tries to explain. “It’s not that I took a completely different direction than everyone else, but I just couldn’t handle the things that were happening at the beginning [of the 2022 season] while the others could.”
At the finale in Japan, Evans will once again have to face Thierry Neuville, who is just seven points behind the Toyota driver in the overall standings. However, he has hopes of a conciliatory end to the season: “Since this year, things have been going pretty well with the car and I’m improving all the time. “
