Kalle Rovanperä faces an unenviable task on Rally Poland this week, acting as a last-minute replacement for Sébastien Ogier after his recce accident.
Yes, Rovanperä is a two-time world champion. His talent is undeniable. But that’s all he really has to rely on this weekend – talent. He hasn’t been staring at a screen for hours with Jonne Halttunen, watching stage videos and working on notes. Not knowing until very late that you’re going to be at the wheel isn’t great.
It’s a rarity that a team undergoes a driver change so close to the rally. But it has happened. And it’s what allowed Elfyn Evans to make his top-level debut 11 years ago on Rally Italy Sardinia. That’s why we’ve chosen this snap of Evans with Giovanni Bernacchini as our Girardo Picture of the Week.
The circumstances were slightly different for Evans. He was M-Sport’s main charge in WRC2 and was even shaking down the Ford Fiesta WRC that Nasser Al-Attiyah had been destined to drive when the call came.
Al-Attiyah couldn’t make Sardinia. Another driver was needed. So who better than the person already shaking down his car anyway?
Unlike Rovanperä, he didn’t get to take his regular co-driver Dan Barritt with him into the cockpit. Instead, Evans found himself paired with Bernacchini.
An unfamiliar co-driver and a somewhat unfamiliar car – it was only his second-ever WRC event driving a four-wheel-drive car – made for an interesting debut. But Evans aced his unexpected first chance, bringing the Fiesta WRC home in sixth place.
If Evans can muster sixth place in an unexpected debut, Rovanperä can surely put some decent points up on the board for Toyota in Poland this weekend.
