Evans closes in on WRC Rally Croatia win after Neuville crashes

Elfyn Evans is closing in on his first FIA World Rally Championship victory since the fall of 2021 after seizing the Rally Croatia lead during Saturday’s penultimate leg.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver (above) assumed control of the challenging asphalt event early in the day when Thierry Neuville, who had led by 5.7s on Friday evening, crashed into retirement on the second stage.

Neuville’s Hyundai i20 N Rally1 stepped out of line and collided with a concrete block, which caused severe damage to the car’s rear suspension. With the Belgian going no further, that handed Evans’ GR Yaris Rally1 a healthy lead of 22.6s at Saturday’s halfway point.

But the dynamic changed when M-Sport Ford’s Ott Tanak cranked up the heat after the mid-leg service in Croatia’s capital, Zagreb, and slashed Welshman Evans’ buffer by almost half with just two of the day’s stages remaining. However, the Estonian was impeded by a technical fault which cost valuable time late in the day and he ended the leg 25.4s off the lead.

Second-placed Ott Tanak turned up the pressure, but was impeded by a late technical issue. M-Sport photo

A victory for Evans, should he succeed in keeping Tanak’s Puma Rally 1 at bay, would be his first since the 2021 Rally Finland, more than 18 months ago.

“If Ott had problems, I wouldn’t wish that on him,” the Welshman said after the day’s final stage. “It’s not nice to exploit a gap like that, but OK, there’s still a long way to go.”

Esapekka Lappi brought his Hyundai to the overnight halt in third overall, despite lacking confidence in some of the sections where corner cutting from the earlier cars had thrown gravel onto the asphalt. A half spin in the afternoon’s first stage didn’t help matters, although the Finn pressed harder in the afternoon and trailed Tanak by just a half minute at close of day.

Eight-time WRC champ Sebastien Ogier started Saturday on the back foot, having been handed a one-minute time penalty for a safety breach — an incorrectly fastened safety harness on Friday’s second stage. The Frenchman, who is running only selected events in 2023, was then lumbered with a further 10-second penalty after a technical issue on the road section caused him to make his own repairs and check in late to the first stage.