Rally news
Welshman says he will start on a level playing field with team-mate Sebastien Ogier at his new squad
Toyota driver Elfyn Evans says it would be wrong to assume he’ll automatically take the role as Sebastien Ogier’s wingman when the new season gets underway in Monte Carlo next month.
The Welshman, who has joined Toyota after seven years with the M-sport Ford World Rally Team, tested the Yaris WRC for the first time in the French Alps early in December and said he felt immediately comfortable with the car. Evans and Ogier are reunited by the Japanese marque, having driven together at the British team through 2017 and 2018.
There were occasions in the second of those campaigns where Evans helped Ogier improve his chances of a sixth world championship title. Neither driver wants a repeat of that scenario.
Previously, Ogier has told Motorsport News he’s keen to source his own success and will seek no special privilege for what’s to be his single season with
Tommi Makinen’s team.
Ogier said: “My approach at the start of the season is not about thinking how can my team-mate help me, my target is always to try to focus on myself and get the job done myself – that’s the most important.
“And about the rest, you know I have never been asking at the start of the season to have any special status, we all deserve the same chance at the start of the season. Depending on what can happen through the year, the strategy can happen in the second half. But in the first half we need to focus on ourselves and bring the best to the team.”
Asked what he thought, Evans replied: “I think pretty much exactly what Seb said! As far as I’m concerned we start the season on an equal footing and ultimately it’s down to me to perform. We’ll see what the second half of the season brings, but to be honest I’m only focusing on doing my best. Historically Toyota is a team which has focused on giving its drivers an equal opportunity and I’m confident that approach will remain.
“Basically, it’s down to me. I need to focus on what I’m doing and not think about the other stuff.”
Evans insists that self-focus is his priority in the early part of the season.
He added: “I’m not thinking about the chances of winning this rally or that one, there are no target events specifically and it’s the same with the championship. My approach for Monte is to go there and make the best of the opportunity – that’s the approach for the rest of the year.”
Evans drove the Yaris WRC for two days in France and was expected to get a first taste of a loose-surface set-up when he headed for Finland this week. The second test was dependent on sufficient snow falling on the roads around Jyvaskyla.
Talking of his first days with the team, Evans said: “Everything was positive. The mood’s good in the team and everybody was really helpful. I’ve no doubt there will be some adaptation – I was with M-sport for a long time – but I was made to feel very much at home.
“The car felt good and I was able to get comfortable with it quite early on. The feedback from the car was good, I could feel what was going on underneath me in some fairly mixed conditions.
“We had a dry day and then from lunchtime on the second day more and more frost started arriving with every run – it was a bit strange to be honest, normally you expect the frost to come when it starts to get a bit darker. But it was good, it was a good chance to drive the car in those conditions.”
When they were running the Fiesta WRC, Evans and Ogier shared a similar set-up and the same can be expected aboard the Yaris.
“I haven’t spoken to Seb yet,” said Evans. “But, from what the team’s saying, we’re asking for the same things, we were never massively different on set-up.”