M-Sport World Rally Team’s Elfyn Evans is on the brink of another strong FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) result at this weekend’s Rally Argentina. The Ford Fiesta RS WRC driver currently holds a solid fourth place with all still to play for.
Having shown a vast improvement on the Argentine stages, Evans and co-driver Daniel Barritt looked to consolidate their position on today’s more technical speed tests. Narrow mountain tracks littered with car-breaking obstacles were the order of the day, and that left no room for error.
Fully aware of this fact, Evans paced himself. Keen to continue his development, he was able to familiarise himself with the stages – observing a number of areas for potential gains whilst keeping his Ecoboost-powered Fiesta RS WRC firmly planted to the ground.
Mission accomplished, the Welshman climbed into what could equal a career-best fourth place; and every chance of that elusive first podium with the legendary ‘El Condor’ stage still to come.
Following yesterday’s disappointment, Ott Tänak and co-driver Raigo Mõlder contested today’s stages with the sole goal of rebuilding their confidence in pursuit of some consolatory manufacturer points. Of course that was easier said than done.
Constant rhythm changes and unsighted rocks made for some demanding speed tests. Eager to produce a clean run with no mistakes, the Estonians struggled to find their rhythm through the challenging terrain but improved their pace throughout the afternoon.
Unfortunately, Tänak’s string of bad luck forced its hand yet again with a puncture on the second pass of ‘Capilla del Monte – San Marcos’ (SS9). But the Fiesta RS WRC driver is still on course to secure two manufacturer points for the team’s campaign.
Elfyn Evans (4th) said:
“We’ve kept out of trouble today and that puts us up to fourth which is the kind of position we were looking to achieve. We weren’t here to push the boat out for the top positions so I think that we can be pleased with where we are. Now it’ll just be a case of staying calm for tomorrow’s final stages.”
Ott Tänak (16th) said:
“It’s been a tricky day, really rough with difficult stages. They were very narrow with a lot of dangers hidden on the outside of the line. After yesterday it has been difficult to find a good feeling but we’ve been trying to build it slowly and I think we got better throughout the day.”
Team Principal, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said:
“Elfyn [Evans] has been very sensible today and that has rewarded him with a strong fourth place. I think he’s probably a little frustrated running in no man’s land with no battles to be had, but he’s done a good job and gained more valuable experience for the future.
“We definitely didn’t see Ott’s [Tänak] true pace this morning, but he wanted make it through with no mistakes which is difficult at the best of times when your confidence has been knocked, let alone on stages as difficult as these. He also clipped a rock and had to stop to change a puncture on SS9, but it’s good to have him back.
“There’s no question that anything can still happen – especially with what is arguably the toughest stage of the rally left to run – but I think the margins are big enough for the drivers ahead to be sensible tomorrow.”
Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (1st WRC 2) said:
“It’s been a good day with no mistakes and no problems which was exactly the plan. We have a good lead of almost three minutes now with just 32 kilometres to go. I told Marshall [Clarke, co-driver] before the rally that if we drove like this we would win WRC 2 and finish inside the top-ten. But first, we need to do two more stages and make it back to service before my prediction comes true!”
Yurii Protasov (5th WRC 2) said:
“Today was much better than yesterday – especially yesterday evening when we got the news that we had a really harsh penalty on top of what else had happened. But okay, today we decided to start slowly and only push if the feeling was okay. I have been really happy with our speed throughout the weekend and the whole experience has been good for us.”
Nicolás Fuchs (8th WRC 2):
Fuchs damaged his Ford Fiesta R5 following a jump three kilometres into SS10. The team will assess the damage and the Peruvian will hope to restart under Rally 2 regulations tomorrow.
M-Sport Managing Director, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said:
“It’s great to see such great pace from the Fiesta drivers in WRC 2. Abdulaziz [Al-Kuwari] has seen his strategy through perfectly and the speed of Yurii [Protasov] has been sensational. He was really unfortunate to have been given such a harsh penalty last night, without that I think he could have delivered one of the stories of the rally.”