By Paul Evans
Elfyn Evans will miss the next round of the FIA World Rally Championship, Rally Germany, as he continues to recover from an injury sustained on a non-championship event.
The 30-year old M-Sport driver suffered a back injury following a heavy and awkward high-speed landing on the recent Rally Estonia.
The injury forced him out of last weekend’s Rally Finland, and it will also put him out of the next round of the series as well, which takes place in Germany in a few weeks time.
Evans, who remains fourth in the WRC driver standings, is receiving specialist sports physiotherapy treatment from Harris & Ross in Manchester in order to speed up his recovery.
Whilst Evans is able to move around freely – he has apparently been back working at the family’s Gwyndaf Evans Motors business in Dolgellau – he is unable to train and it remains unclear as to when he’ll return to the physically brutal demands of driving his Ford Fiesta WRC in competition.
The next round of the WRC after Germany is Rally Turkey (12-15 September), with rocks and boulders making it the roughest round of the series. His home Wales Rally GB (3-6 October), which he won in 2017, follows that.
“Sad to say I won’t be competing at Rally Germany,” said Evans. “It’s really frustrating to be missing rallies at a critical point in the season, but I need to listen to the experts and make sure the injury is fully healed – so that when I do come back, I’m at full strength with no compromises. I feel Scott [Martin, co-driver] and I have had a solid start to the season, and I’m doing everything I can to aid the process and be back behind the wheel as soon as possible.”
“Elfyn is understandably frustrated not to be back in Germany – especially at such a critical point in the season,” added M-Sport Team Principal, Richard Millener. “We all know what he would have been capable of here, but his health is the most important factor and we need to ensure he is fully recovered and one hundred per cent fit before getting back behind the wheel. He’s doing everything he can to aid the healing process, and we hope to have him back in time for Turkey.”