For Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, 2023 has been a slow burner.
Despite taking a win on the Croatia Rally back in April, the Welshman only sat fourth in the points standings, and just 13-points ahead of part-time team-mate Sébastien Ogier, as the World Rally Championship headed to Kenya and the halfway point of the season.
But as the second half of the year has progressed, Evans has climbed his way up the leaderboard and shaken off the chasing pack of Hyundai i20 Ns and M-Sport Ford Pumas to become Kalle Rovanperä’s only title rival, trailing the Finn by 31-points with two rounds of the championship remaining.
For Evans, this gradual progression is reason enough to be content as the season reaches its climax.
“It’s been a bit up and down [this season], we didn’t have the best start to the year,” said Evans. “[But] the second half has been a bit stronger.
“It’s definitely been a progressive year, let’s say, where things have gotten better and better.
“So long as we keep improving, then that’s OK.”
And improve the Welshman certainly has since he first climbed aboard a GR Yaris Rally1 – a car, by his own admission, he struggled to get to grips with, particularly in 2022.
“We know since the start of this generation of car [Rally 1] that it wasn’t an easy transition, especially for myself,” he said.
“[I] struggled a bit in the beginning, but things seem to be moving in the right direction all the time, [I’m] getting more and more comfortable in the car and things are getting better.
“So we need to try and carry that momentum forward.”
With momentum on his side, and with the prospect of squeezing even more pace from his Yaris, Evans might just be about the peak at the right time of the season.
And what’s more, both this week’s all-new Central European Rally and the season-ending Rally Japan take place on asphalt – a surface Evans has traditionally performed well on.
So, does Evans think this will give him the advantage as the WRC heads back to the blacktop? Not exactly, given who he’s up against.
“Yeah, but we also know how fast Kalle is,” the Welshman told DirtFish. “He’s even had the edge I would say in this car on Tarmac, to be honest.
“Not before this car [with the Yaris WRC], but with this car. So let’s see.”
But while Evans might be keen to underplay his position, he’s certainly not giving up on his hopes for the drivers’ title.
“It’s not done yet, even though there is quite a big gap to Kalle in front. Anything can happen, we know how things quickly change in this game.
“But realistically, we need some back luck for Kalle to bring us back in contention. But we’ll keep trying, put the pressure on, and see what happens.”