Elfyn Evans is a practical sort of World Rally Championship leader. And, as a typically resourceful star of Toyota Gazoo Racing, he’s come up with an alternative to the clamour for a beefed-up, Safari-strong car next time the WRC’s in Kenya.
That’s not to say he wouldn’t like a bit more steel in the metal, but he’s keen not to be needing a boat again.
“A bit more flexibility with the car wouldn’t go amiss,” he told DirtFish. “Or we have a bit more common sense about which sections to run and not run when weather extremes hit.”
Evans rebuffed the suggestion this meant sanitising the Safari to avoid mud and water, adding: “We have to come prepared for mud and water, but of course there’s a difference between mud and water and where you need a boat.
“And things like what happened on Saturday [when the organizers] changed the route after the recce, all these things are not where we should be as a sport. If you have a rough section, you have to use your head and you have to slow down and you can manage that. The problem is, when you have tall grass and these big stones littered everywhere, it’s a pure lottery at that moment.
“It’s about stage selection. If it’s rough and you have to manage and you have to accept that you have to slow down to avoid punctures, that can be part of Safari Rally. But when they put rocks to stop you cutting and send you into these massive deep water holes, that starts to be a problem.”
Evans was, however, equally quick to understand the virtues and the value of an event like the Safari.
“The championship is all about showing the diversity of these cars and this is obviously the extreme side, but it provides some of the best shots of the year,” he said.
“It’s OK to have a rally [like this] once in a while, but you have to use your head. But I think it didn’t matter what you did in some scenarios on that event, I felt you were at the mercy of luck.”
Evans finished 13th overall after retiring on Sleeping Warrior 1 with damage to the rear-right of his Toyota.
