Dolgellau driver Elfyn Evans fell just short in search of victory at Rally Estonia at the weekend.
Instead it was Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Kalle Rovanperä who stormed to the win for the third year in a row ahead of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRIDs of Thierry Neuville and Esapekka Lappi, extending his lead in the FIA World Rally Championship.
Reflecting on the weekend, Evans said: “We were in a pretty intense fight throughout the weekend for the podium places and naturally it’s disappointing not to have made it in the end.
“We weren’t a million miles away but unfortunately we just fell a bit short.
“On Friday it took some time to feel comfortable and I think that’s when the majority of the damage was done in terms of our road position for the rest of the rally.
“Well done to Kalle who was dominant this weekend.
“It’s hard to be satisfied with our result but we come away with some good points from the Power Stage and from the rally.
“It’s also a good warm-up for Rally Finland and we’ll work hard over the next week to try and do better there.”
Guided by co-driver Jonne Halttunen, Rovanperä once again looked at home aboard his GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID on some of the fastest roads in the WRC.
He held a narrow lead at the end of Friday despite having to run first on the loose gravel stages, and was quite literally unbeatable thereafter as he pulled clear of the competition.
He recorded a remarkable run of 13 consecutive stage wins from Saturday morning until the rally-ending Power Stage on Sunday afternoon – becoming the first driver to have such a streak of fastest times on a WRC round since Sébastien Loeb in Germany 15 years ago.
Quickest in the finale by two seconds, he secured his second win of the season by 52.7s overall and claimed the maximum 30 points to increase his standings lead to 55 points.
The victory is his 10th in the WRC in the two years since he became its youngest-ever winner on Rally Estonia 2021.
Evans remains second in the drivers’ standings after he and co-driver Scott Martin were second-fastest in the Power Stage and finished fourth overall following a thrilling fight for the final place on the podium with Esapekka Lappi (Hyundai) – finishing just 7.3s away.
Takamoto Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston finished seventh overall, only 0.3 seconds away from a place in the top six. TGR-WRT has increased its manufacturers’ championship lead to 57 points.
Akio Toyoda, TGR-WRT chairman, said: “Kalle, Jonne, congratulations on your victory, and three consecutive wins at Rally Estonia!
“I would also like to congratulate him for becoming the youngest double-digit winner. I’m looking forward to offering donuts to him somewhere again.
“And of course I am also thankful to Elfyn and Scott, who earned solid points for the team.”
Jari-Matti Latvala, team principal, said: “Kalle really dominated this rally.
“This is probably the strongest rally for him on the calendar, it’s like a home rally to him and the one he loves to drive the most, and he took the absolute maximum from it which is great for his title defence.
“We also saw a very good fight from Elfyn and he did a strong drive on the Power Stage to be second-fastest, scoring really valuable points for himself but also for the manufacturers’ championship where we have increased our lead.”
Rally Estonia top five final classification: 1, Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) 2h36m03.1s; 2, Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +52.7s; 3, Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +59.5s; 4, Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +1m06.8s; 5, Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +2m21.1s.
Next up for Evans and his Toyota GR team is Rally Finland from 3 to 6 August, the fastest rally on the calendar, run over smooth gravel roads containing many jumps.