For over a year, he’s not been lower than second in the World Rally Championship standings.
At six of the last seven events, he’s not finished lower than second.
Not since Rally Finland in August 2024 has he failed to score a point. And in the 20 WRC events since, he’s stood on the podium at 13 of them.
However you choose to slice it, Elfyn Evans’ consistency and dependability cannot be denied.
“Yeah, it’s incredible,” agreed Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala.
“Think about when was the last time he did a mistake? You have to go back in the 2024 season. It’s amazing the performance that he’s doing, the level he’s driving, he’s doing without mistakes. And that’s why he’s been so many times second, the runner-up, in the World Rally Championship.”
Evans has scored 13 podiums in his last 20 WRC starts
Second won’t do for Evans again in 2026, though. He’s missed out too many times to accept it – and there’s a newfound focus to take nothing for granted (say, for example, not treating Sébastien Ogier as a title rival at the start of last season) this time around.
Latvala firmly believes “when the time is right, he [Evans] will become world champion” but will it be this year?
“This year he has the chances again,” said the Finn. “But of course there is a young challenger, Oliver Solberg. But all the experience that Elfyn has, for sure he’s putting that on the table.”
Ever the perfectionist, Evans feels that despite leading the championship by 13 points and scoring 60 from a possible 70 so far, there’s still room to improve.
“I guess if it was perfect, we would have won in Monte,” he smiled. “But yeah, we can definitely be happy with the first two rallies. So it’s just on to the next one.”
