DOLEGELLAU driver Elfyn Evans is setting his sights on getting the most out of the last two asphalt rounds to end the World Rally Championship season.
His Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team will continue its chase for the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship on challenging roads across Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria when the Central European Rally takes place on 17-20 October.
The 35-year-old said: “After a great team performance in Chile, it was nice to be back on the podium and now we want to get the most out of these last two asphalt rounds to end the season.
“We know that both Central Europe and Japan can be quite difficult rallies in terms of the weather and such events are a challenge as a driver to try and get right, especially with the added dimension of working with our route note crews.
“Our driving time on this surface is quite limited during the year, but at least the conditions we expect are not so different to Croatia.
“The car was working well there, so we’ve had a good base to work from while trying to find some improvements that can put us in a good place for the event.”
By achieving a magnificent maximum score on the previous round in Chile, TGR-WRT more than halved the gap to the manufacturers’ championship lead from 35 to 17 points with two rounds remaining.
Both of the final events are made up of demanding asphalt roads – as the WRC returns to the surface for the first time since the Croatia Rally in April – with the second edition of the cross-border Central European Rally to be followed by the season finale at Rally Japan in November.
Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans both remain in mathematical contention for the drivers’ championship and are joined in the team’s line-up for the Central European Rally by the returning Takamoto Katsuta.
Following impressive first drives in the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID on the gravel stages of Finland and Chile, rising star Sami Pajari once more lines up in an additional fourth entry for his first experience on asphalt at the highest level.
The Central European Rally made its WRC debut one year ago, becoming the first round to ever feature stages driven in three different countries.
The character of the stages varies from one region to another and the weather – in the middle of the European autumn – can also be changeable, making the roads more slippery with rain, mud and leaves.
As in 2023, the rally begins from the Czech capital city, Prague.
This year, shakedown will also be held on the edge of the city on Thursday morning before the ceremonial start in the capital’s famous castle district.
The opening super special stage follows at the Velká Chuchle horse racing course, before a longer stage in the evening near the town of Klatovy.
The same test is run twice more on Friday together with two other stages on Czech roads – which are especially bumpy and narrow yet fast in nature.
There are opportunities for remote service to begin the morning and mid-afternoon, before cars return to the service park in Karpfham, to the south-west of the German city of Passau, at the end of the day.
Saturday is the longest day of the rally with 123.46 competitive kilometres to be driven across two loops of three stages spanning Germany and Austria.
The middle stage of the loop, Beyond Borders, begins in Germany and ends in Austria. Sunday’s finale features a pair of stages run twice on German roads before the final podium in Passau.
Team principal Jari-Matti Latvala said: “Our result in Chile was a big motivation boost for the whole team.
“Having halved the gap, we have shown that the manufacturers’ championship race remains open and everything is still possible, so we’re very much looking forward to the Central European Rally.”