By Paul Evans

Elfyn Evans has taken the joint led of the FIA World Rally Championship after winning Rally Croatia at the weekend.

But the Welsh driver said that the sporting triumph felt “so insignificant” as he dedicated his win to his friend and fellow WRC driver Craig Breen, who was killed in a pre-event testing accident.

It was an extremely emotional end to the event, as Evans and co-driver Scott Martin (who used to navigate for Breen) climbed onto the top step of the podium.

The normal champagne-spraying celebrations were replaced by a minute’s silence and the Irish National Anthem in honour of Breen, the universally liked and admired Hyundai team driver.

Having won his first rally for over 18 months – since the 2021 Rally Finland to be precise – Evans shares the WRC lead with his Toyota team-mate Sébastien Ogier, who is not contesting the full series.

Defending champion Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) is next in the standings, just one point behind, while Ott Tänak (Ford) is a mere three points adrift in what is becoming a very close fight for the 2023 world title.

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“Obviously we have been working for another win like this for a long time but that doesn’t mean so much right at this moment,” said Evans.

“It’s been a tough week for everybody and the whole WRC family can be proud of how everyone has come together and paid tribute to Craig.

“Competition went on as usual, as he would have wanted.

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“It seemed a bit of a tall order to win here with our road position on Friday with the amount of dirt on the road, but some others hit trouble and that gave us an opportunity to fight for the win.

“Scott and myself promised Craig’s family that we would enjoy this weekend and we’ve been able to do that.

“Now it’s all over, our thoughts turn back to them.”