EVANS CAUTIOUS ON WRC TITLE HOPES IN SHOWDOWN
Toyota Yaris man to go toe-to-toe with team-mate Sebastien Ogier at Monza
Elfyn Evans is playing down his chances of preventing Toyota team-mate Sebastien Ogier from claiming an eighth World crown on Rally Monza this weekend.
Brit Evans starts the WRC season decider 17 points behind Frenchman Ogier with 30 points still on the table at the Italian Grand Prix venue.
Evans could become World champion for the first time by winning the rally and the event-closing Powerstage but would need Ogier to finish no higher than fourth and be outside the top five on the Powerstage.
While a number of permutations exist, Ogier has scored Powerstage points on 10 out of 11 attempts this season. And of the events he’s finished in 2021 having completed the full rally distance, he’s only twice not claimed a top-four placing.
“It’s good to be going into the final round still with a chance of taking the drivers’title,” said Evans, who is co-driven by fellow Brit Scott Martin. “It’s an outside chance but Scott and
I will give it our best shot. The approach will be just to aim for the best result possible and see what happens.”
Evans was seemingly out of the title game following his sixth place on the Acropolis Rally in Greece back in September. But having taken 51 points from a possible 60 on the last two rounds, the 32-year-old from Wales has reignited his championship push.
“After a difficult mid-season, the last couple of rounds have been better for us, but Monza will be a completely different challenge again,” Evans said. “The stages in the mountains have a really nice character, but the stages at the circuit are very mixed and not so flowing. It’s impossible to capture all of that in a test, but after last year we have a pretty good idea of what to expect.”
Evans started last season’s Monza finale 14 points ahead of Ogier, but an off on day two when running third handed the initiative Ogier and meant Evans missed out on the title by eight points.
As well as celebrating a third drivers’ champion in as many seasons, Toyota is almost assured of the makes’award. With 52 points up for grabs in Monza, Toyota’s advantage over Hyundai stands at 47. It means a top-seven finish from Evans, Ogier or Kalle Rovanpera will hand Toyota its first manufacturers’ championship since 2018 and its fifth since the WRC began in 1973.