Evans pipped by the smallest of margins
WELSH WRC driver Elfyn Evans lost out on the win at the Croatia Rally on Sunday afternoon by just over half a second after three days of flat-out action in the third closest FIA World Rally Championship finish in history.
After a remarkable final day to Croatia’s maiden WRC appearance, current world champion Sébastien Ogier claimed a breathtaking last-gasp victory and relegated Toyota Yaris team-mate Evans in the final miles to win the three-day rally by 0.6sec.
Thierry Neuville finished third in a Hyundai i20, 7.5secs further back, but the facts do scant justice to the drama of a rally that will live long in the memory.
The trio fought tooth and nail from Friday’s start on Croatia’s slippery roads near Zagreb.
After trading places on several occasions, the final day opened with Ogier leading Evans by 6.9secs, despite a second-leg puncture, and just over 10secs blanketed the three drivers.
The drama unfolded when Ogier was involved in a road traffic collision en route to the opening speed test.
Nobody was injured but the heavy impact damaged the Yaris right-hand side bodywork and the crucial aero package.
Local police stopped Ogier from proceeding on the public road, with a team member present negotiating the situation without much seeming success.
Finally, and controversially, Ogier drove around the police and away from the scene, but pushing one officer out of the way with the front of the car.
Ogier later said there was confusion by the police, one saying go, another telling him to stop, but he did not expect any penalty from the rally organisers or the FIA.
Evans capitalised on Ogier’s problems to win the first two tests and the Welshman started the final 14km live TV Wolf Power Stage with a 3.9sec advantage as Belgian Neuville still chased both.
Interim times revealed Ogier closing on the Welshman before Evans slid wide on to a grass verge near the finish.
It was the break Ogier needed and he scorched across the finish to record his 51st career victory, seal a Toyota one-two and regain the championship lead.
“The emotion for us now is super strong,” admitted Ogier.
“It’s been a crazy rollercoaster for us between the puncture and the issue this morning. I was glad to be still in the rally honestly. I guess that’s why we do this sport, for this emotion.”
Neuville encountered his fair share of troubles during the weekend, including a poor tyre choice, a spin and a missed junction in that final stage that meant the Belgian
had to settle for third.
Ott Tänak finished fourth after never feeling totally comfortable with his i20 but the Estonian had more than 90secs in hand over Adrian Fourmaux in fifth.
The championship heads to the first of a series of four gravel rallies at Vodafone Rally de Portugal next month. Matosinhos hosts the event on May 20–23.
REGISTRATIONS have unsurprisingly flooded in for the 2021 Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh National Rally Championship, which features a new class structure to attract a variety of cars and drivers given the total lack of rallying allowed by the Government.
The series features 14 different classes, including, by popular demand, a new category for road rally cars.
With points awarded to the top 22 finishers on each round, the battle for the overall Welsh National Rally Championship title is always a close one, as in 2019 when Tom Llewellin/peredur Davies were pipped in the race for the coveted crown on the final round.
The overall champion can come from any class, and a well-driven Escort Mk2, for example, can battle for overall honours against fourwheel-drive machinery.
Every class and all registered competitors are important to the Welsh National Rally Championship, a philosophy enabling the series to develop a class structure of quality and quantity.
The Ravenol Welsh Challenge, for example, is established as one of the top clubman categories within the championship, open to competitors in both two and fourwheel-drive cars who have not finished in the top 10 of a National B (or equivalent) championship gravel event.
The Restruct-sponsored twowheel-drive category has also increased in popularity since its introduction.
Open to crews in either front or rear-wheel-drive cars, this category has successfully attracted historic vehicles across into the open class structure.
It has proved so successful that a bit of fine-tuning will now see historic vehicles separated within a new class structure to increase the already strong competition, as well as retaining the category’s integrity.
A significant number of serious enquiries from Irish rally drivers have come in, including from Frank Kelly in his famous Baby Blue Escort, which bodes well for an exciting Irish presence in the championship.
Welsh National Rally Championship regular Wug Utting (Subaru Impreza STI N12B) is among registrations in the four-wheel-drive classes, and one of the UK’S most experienced co-drivers, Paul Spooner, has registered in a bid for top honours.
An important element to the Welsh series is the development of talent in the under-25 section; in
recent years, six championshipwinning drivers have started in the junior category.
As in 2019, the prize for the winning WNC junior driver is a test in a PCRS Rallysport-prepared Hyundai i20 R5, courtesy of Onthepacenote.
The new road rally cars class acknowledges the increasing number of competitors who would like to try stage rallying without having to go to the expense of buying another vehicle.
Cars will be allowed to run under Motorsport UK stage rally rules for tyres and graphics, and must conform to both road rally and stage rally regulations.
Dave Evison, Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh National Rally Championship secretary, said: “In response to requests from competitors, we have made some positive changes to the class structure of the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh National Rally Championship.
“With the inclusion of the road rally class, and the healthy competition in the popular two-wheeldrive category, I believe the balance we have struck will maintain the competition between crews, which is so important to deliver a successful series.”
The opening round of the 2021 Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh National Rally Championship is the Nicky Grist Stages on Saturday, July 10.
Further details on the championship can be found online at wnrc.wamc.org.uk