This time last year, it was six. Year before it was three. This time? Try 36. Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin, welcome to the history books.
Toyota’s Safari-winning pair have pinned 88 from a possible 105 points to the board so far this year. That’s impressive. What’s even more impressive – and record-breaking – is the 36-point advantage they enjoy at the top of the table.
Closest anybody ever got to that was Sébastien Ogier in the fourth and final season of his all-conquering years of Volkswagen dominance.
Now, you’re not wrong, the points system has changed significantly with 10 more points on offer than there was nine years ago. But it’s still history.
Evans and Martin's lead in their respective championships grew to 36 points with their Safari Rally win
Evans’ rocket-propelled start to the season (which includes second in Monte and back-to-back wins in Sweden and Safari) has caught the attention of the service park.
The odds on the Welshman winning the remainder of the events and continuing that trend to the end of the year are not even worth considering. Not least because he’s not actually sure how many rallies are left in 2025.
“How many?” he asked DirtFish. “It’s 11, yeah, that’s a lot.”
This is symptomatic of Evans’ steadfast refusal to pay any attention to the 36 things we want to engage him in.
“It’s so early in the season,” he added, “you almost have to ignore it.”
Evans is flying this year, but has zero interest in the strength of his current championship position
Hard to ignore, however, when the team broadcast the numbers to the car within seconds of another win being registered.
Evans said: “The team are, naturally, quite happy to share that information as soon as the results are on the board. So of course we’re aware of what’s going on. But there’s only been three rallies…”
Rally-by-rally has always been Evans’ approach and, now more than ever, that’s not going to change.
“Things have been working well so far this year, but we know there’s still a big job to come ahead.”
