Evans wins Rally Finland to reignite his WRC title challenge

Elfyn Evans (above) sealed a dominant WRC Rally Finland victory on Sunday afternoon to keep alive his chances of fighting for this year’s FIA World Rally Championship title.

A rally-ending crash and roll for his Toyota gazoo Racing teammate, reigning WRC champ and 2023 points leader Kalle Rovanpera, had propelled Evans’ GR Yaris Rally1 into the lead on Friday afternoon. The Welshman then reeled off seven back-to-back stage wins on Saturday to leave his closest challenger, Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, trailing in his wake.

He extended the gap further on Sunday’s short final leg to win by 39.1s. With 25 points for the win and an additional five points for setting fastest time in the rally-closing Wolf Power Stage, Evans slashed Rovanpera’s championship advantage from 55 points to 25, with four rounds remaining and a maximum 120 up for grabs.

Evans’ Toyota Gazoo Racing team is based near the host city of Jyvaskyla, and victory extended its WRC manufacturers’ championship lead over Hyundai Motorsport to 67 points.

“It’s been a pretty good weekend,” said Evans, who also won on the high-speed gravel stages of Rally Finland in 2021. “Of course, we’re sorry for the loss of Kalle at the start of the rally, but after that it’s been really fantastic to drive this car — it’s such a joy to be behind the wheel on these roads and we’re really happy with this one. In terms of the championship, it’s also not bad that we’ve closed the gap.”

Elfyn Evans celebrates a dominant WRC Rally Finland win with co-driver Scott Martin. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT photo

Changeable conditions provided furious action on the fastest roads on the WRC calendar, with early challengers Ott Tanak and Esapekka Lappi both joining Rovanpera on Friday’s list of retirements. Engine failure sidelined Tanak’s M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1, while Lappi emerged unscathed after crashing his Hyundai i20 N Rally 1 into a tree.

Neuville enjoyed one of his strongest performances on Finland’s flat-out and undulating forest roads, but ultimately had no answer to Evans’ rapid pace. Remaining third in the championship after round nine, the Belgian finished with a hefty 57.6s margin over the third-placed Toyota of Takamoto Katsuta behind.

Thierry Neuville put in a strong showing on the super-fast Finnish stages to take second. @World/Red Bull Content Pool

Katsuta dueled relentlessly with Hyundai driver Teemu Suninen. The latter, starting only his second event in an i20 N Rally1, rolled the dice and bravely opted to save weight by not carrying a spare wheel through Sunday’s four-stage finale. But that still wasn’t enough to relegate the Japanese Yaris driver, who ended 4.3s clear to celebrate his fourth career WRC podium.