Attack-mode Evans stretches his WRC Rally Finland lead

Elfyn Evans (above) made major strides towards his second WRC Rally Finland victory after the Toyota Gazoo Racing driver moved into full attack mode on Saturday’s penultimate leg.

The GR Yaris Rally1 driver was fastest on seven out of eight of the gravel road stages in the super-fast Finnish forests to extend a 6.9s lead at the start of the day into a commanding 32.1s buffer at the end of the leg, leaving Thierry Neuville’s Hyundai i20 N Rally trailing in his wake.

Rain showers early in the day played to the Evans’ strengths, and while Neuville grappled with wheelspin in the wet conditions, the 2021 Rally Finland winner excelled. The Welshman was equally at home in the repeated afternoon loop where the drying gravel roads became increasingly rutted.

With WRC points leader Kalle Rovanpera already sidelined by a crash on Friday, victory at this ninth FIA World Rally Championship round is essential for Evans — currently second in the points behind his Toyota teammate — to keep his title hopes alive. He was delighted with his performance on a demanding day that contained more than half the rally’s competitive distance.

“Obviously, it’s a nice position to be in, but of course there are still more stages to come tomorrow,” said Evans. “The focus will be on that now and we’ll try to keep doing the same.”

Although Neuville struggled to get his Hyundai’s setup dialed in for the changeable conditions, the Belgian was consistently quicker than the remainder of the field. Toyota driver Takamoto Katsuta, his closest challenger, lagged almost one minute behind in third.

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville continued his setup struggles, but still consolidated the second-overall spot. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Katsuta had dropped behind Hyundai’s Teemu Suninen after spinning in the morning’s first run through the Paijala stage, but charged back to reclaim the final podium spot in the first stage after the lunchtime service halt. He yielded the position again in the following test, then surged back in front by posting a benchmark time through the day’s closing stage, Vekkula 2. The pair were split by just 6.4s at the overnight halt.