By Ian Gordon
Elfyn Evans will be looking to continue his World Rally Championship title comeback in Latvia after cutting his deficit to 15 points.
The Welsh ace had to settle for second on Rally Poland after a costly tyre issue but still managed to claw back three points on rival Thierry Neuville.
Evans missed out on victory to Toyota team-mate and reigning champ Kalle Rovanpera who is not competing the full schedule this year and was also called up as a late replacement for the rally.
Elfyn and Scott complete a 1-2 finish after a strong performance #ToyotaGAZOORacing #GRYaris #WRC #RallyPoland pic.twitter.com/r4gjOU37dS
— TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) June 30, 2024
Evans said: “At the end of the rally our overall position is good. The Sunday points are almost just as important and we tried to get as many as we could today.
“It was all going OK, but unfortunately we had an issue in the Power Stage with a puncture: there was a rock on the line and there was not a lot I could do.
“We only lost a few seconds, but with this points system a small issue like that can penalise you a lot, so it was disappointing to finish the rally this way. Our speed this weekend was not bad:
“Friday was good with the road position we had and Saturday was also going well until the tyre issue. It’s definitely the case that the feeling in the car is much better than in the previous rallies.
“We need to carry that forward, build on what we learned here and look to do a good job in Latvia.”
Evans and co-driver Scott Martin were firmly in the fight for the win for much of the weekend and were just 0.4s off top spot on Saturday lunchtime.
How the top of the drivers’ standings look #WRC | #RallyPoland pic.twitter.com/7BWbXBHeZb
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) June 30, 2024
But Evans suffered a tyre issue in the first stage of the afternoon loop that cost them several seconds and dropped to third place.
Evans reclaimed second on Sunday morning as he pushed to maximise their Sunday score, though he would sustain a tyre deflation in the Power Stage that left him seventh-quickest there and fourth in the Super Sunday classification.
Rovanpera was only called up two days before the event – having never competed in Poland before – when team-mates Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais were unable to take part after they were involved in a road traffic collision during reconnaissance.
Toyota Team Principal Jari-Matti Latvala said: “When I called Kalle on Tuesday afternoon and asked him to drive here in Poland, I told him that I was not expecting him to win.
“I knew that his natural driving could at least get him inside the top five, which would still help us for the championship. I know it wasn’t the nicest way for a crew to start a rally with no preparation, so thanks to them for thinking about the team and doing everything to support and bringing us lots of points.
“Thanks also to Elfyn and Scott, who were also doing what they could to support Kalle and Jonne this weekend, and a 1-2 result could hardly be better.
“Elfyn was unfortunate not to score more points for the championship, but altogether it’s a positive result for us.”
PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, RALLY POLAND
1 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) 2h33m07.6s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +28.3s
3 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID) +42.7s
4 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +1m10.8s
5 Mārtiņš Sesks/Renārs Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m47.0s
6 Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +2m16.6s
7 Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID) +2m18.0s
8 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +2m26.7s
9 Sami Pajari/Enni Mälkönen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +7m50.7s
10 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +8m12.7s
FIA World Rally Championship for drivers after round 7:
1 Thierry Neuville 136 points
2 Elfyn Evans 121
3 Ott Tänak 115
4 Sébastien Ogier 92
5 Adrien Fourmaux 91
6 Kalle Rovanperä 63
7 Takamoto Katsuta 58
8 Andreas Mikkelsen 29
9 Dani Sordo 27
10 Esapekka Lappi 23
FIA World Rally Championship for manufacturers after round 7:
1 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 311 points
2 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team 301
3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 156
Rally Latvia, a brand new event for the WRC with high-speed gravel roads, runs from Rally Latvia (July 18-21).