By Paul Evans
Elfyn Evans is looking to kick-start his 2018 FIA World Rally Championship season in Mexico this weekend – and having twice finished fourth (2014 and 2015) there, the 29-year old Dolgellau driver will be looking to better that and challenge for a top-three podium result.
Co-driven by Daniel Barritt, it’s not been luckiest of starts to the season for the works M-Sport Ford Fiesta RS WRC driver. Eflyn finished sixth on the Monte Carlo Rally after stopping to change a puncture on the opening stage and then 14th on Rally Sweden after another puncture forced him to run further down the field and in tricky rutted road conditions.
But Monte Carlo and Sweden are the lottery events in the WRC – and with 11 either straight gravel or asphalt rallies ahead, Eflyn’s 2018 can really begin.
But each rally has its unique ingredient, and in Mexico it’s altitude. In addition to being physically demanding, a World Rally Car loses 10 per cent of power every 1,000 metres – and the highest part of the event is 2,737 metres above sea level.
“Rally Mexico is an event that I really enjoy,” says Evans. “It’s such a colourful rally with a great atmosphere and we’ve done well there in the past. It’s one of those events where a clever run can deliver the results. You need to get the balance between speed and risk just right, and that’s exactly what we’ll be aiming for next week.
“When you think about this event two things come to mind – the heat and the altitude. We’ve got to get quickly acclimatised to the environment – both in terms of our physical fitness and our driving style. The thinner air can see the power reduced by as much as 20 per cent so you’ve got to be tidy and keep the momentum through the corners.
“We’ll have a good road position, but that’s not without its challenges as there’s an added risk of rocks being pulled onto the racing line. We’ll need to stay focused and hopefully we can deliver a strong result to kick-start our 2018 campaign.”
And with team-mates Sébastien Ogier and Teemu Suninen driving identical EcoBoost-powered Fiesta WRCs in Mexico, the M-Sport team has pulled out all the stops in order to try and get a top result this weekend.
“We were expecting the championship to be closer than ever this year, and the fact that all four manufacturers are separated by just 11 points is proof of that,” adds M-Sport Team Principal, Malcolm Wilson.
“If we want to regain our place at the head of the standings, we need to deliver a strong team result in Mexico and I’m confident that we can launch a return to form next week.
“The last two days of our test might have been disrupted by the wintry weather, but we were still able to collect a lot of good data – both from the test and from two days of work at Ford’s Climatic Chamber in Dunton. We have three very capable drivers who are all hungry for a good result, and the whole team are determined to see the Fiesta make a return to the podium.”
This weekend’s Rally Mexico starts on Thursday evening with a ceremonial start in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Guanajuato.
The following three days contain 22 stages of action in the stunning Sierra de Lobos and Sierra de Guanajuato mountains, totalling 214 stage miles. Friday is the longest day of action and includes two runs through the longest and highest stage of the event, El Chocolate.
Saturday is virtually as long and, like Friday, is rounded off with two runs around the city’s motor racing circuit before returning to the service park for a sealed surface street stage.
Sunday covers just three stages and 28 miles; Alfaro is run once followed by two passes through Las Minas, the latter run counting as the points-scoring Power Stage.