Elfyn Evans might be in the best position to become World Rally Champion next week of the three drivers still in contention heading to the season finale, Rally Italy Sardinia, but Toyota’s technical director has identified one thing Evans must get right to finish the job.
A healthy 17-point lead with 35 left to score at the final round of the year gives Evans the ability to finish behind team-mates and title rivals Sami Pajari and Oliver Solberg (a further four points behind Pajari) and still become world champion for the first time next Sunday.
But should conditions remain dry, sweeping loose gravel away as first car on the road will present Evans with a disadvantage – one that Tom Fowler, Toyota’s technical director, has highlighted as a key pressure point the Welshman must overcome.
I think Elfyn is going into it saying: I have to be world champion this time.Tom Fowler
And it’s not just about Friday or the overall result. It’s about the damage a poor Friday would do to Evans’ chances to score some of the 10 points available on Sunday – five for that day’s classification and five for the powerstage – that matters most.
“The biggest pressure has to be on Elfyn,” Fowler told DirtFish on a special podcast first published on Club DirtFish.
“If we were going into say Japan – or a Tarmac rally – as the last event, then I would say Elfyn is in a fantastic position. The type of event that Sardinia is makes it incredibly difficult for the leader because there is no margin to back off.
“Friday isn’t necessarily about trying to win the rally, but it’s about trying to win a new road position for Saturday and Sunday that enables you to unlock part of that ten points on Sunday. If you fall back into a road position from Friday that puts you again near the front on Saturday and then potentially the same going into Sunday, then you not only struggle to get points from the the rally itself in terms of the leaderboard but also those extra points on Sunday.
Evans will need to stay sharp on the opening day of the season finale to ensure he's in the right place to grab Sunday points
“I think the key part of it will be to get that road position, so that you can unlock the Sunday points already on Friday. When you’re talking about unlocking points from Sunday on Friday, it’s clearly a high-pressure situation because you’re going into stage one knowing my time here doesn’t just mean my time overall, it means affecting my time also for the next two days.”
Conversely Pajari will feel no pressure at all, Fowler believes, given he was not considered to be in the championship picture at all until pulling off his string of three consecutive wins in the second half of the season.
“Sami has done a fantastic last part of the season winning all those events,” said Fowler. “He probably didn’t expect to be in the position that he is now looking from a couple of months ago. So in that way, I feel like he can go into it thinking: I’ve already done fantastically to get myself to this position, so whatever happens is still okay.
“[By comparison] I think Elfyn is going into it saying: I have to be world champion this time.”
It’s a similar situation for Solberg but for differing reasons; his speed suggested he would be a title contender but a string of mid-season crashes means he could not have reasonably expected to be in this position prior to his commanding win in Chile earlier this month.
“The other part is on Oliver’s shoulders,” said Fowler. “I think Oliver should be looking at it in a way that he is a bit lucky to be still in contention at the last round, considering what’s happened this season.
“He’s had some fantastic results, he’s had some really amazing stage times but also there’s been quite a number of incidents that we’re all aware of. To be still in contention to be world champion at the last round, after all that’s happened in his season, I would say he shouldn’t be under pressure.
“But, you know, Oliver always puts himself under some pressure. So perhaps he will be.”
Fowler shared further insights into the season finale exclusively with Club DirtFish members in a special hour-long podcast – join now to listen to the episode in full.
