World Rally Championship leader Elfyn Evans delivered a dazzling and quite brilliant performance to become the first British driver ever to win Rally Sweden last week.
How?
How did he do that? What’s changed with the 31-year-old?
Sure, he had pace in an M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC – we saw that with his Rally GB success in 2017. And his supreme run in Corsica last season.
But Sweden was different. Evans didn’t just drive faster, he walked taller in a Toyota.
Is it the car? Is it the Yaris WRC? Sure, there’s some of that. But don’t be misguided enough to think the Fiesta WRC’s anything but a potential winner. There’s universal acceptance across the service park that any one of the three factory cars is well capable of winning on its day. That’s one of the major successes of this latest generation of World Rally Cars.
But there’s also an acceptance that Toyota – especially on the fast rallies – has just a shade more winning capability than the others.
It’s more about understanding that I’m not here to copy Séb, I’m here to do my own thingElfyn Evans
So, he had the right car. But what’s actually more important is that he has the right frame of mind.
And, what’s more, he’s made his own mind up.
Tell us more, Elfyn: “I feel comfortable with the car, that’s pretty clear.
“The car gives good feedback, but I’ve gone down my own route with a few things – just little tweaks on things. It’s obvious the car’s already fast and very driveable and they have all the good set-ups that you need , but you still have a bit of personalisation.
“I’m at the point where I know exactly what I need from a car and I’m not afraid to go for that car.
“Three years ago with Séb [Ogier] the last time, I would be thinking: ‘Séb wants this, he’s the world champion, so it can’t be wrong…’
“Actually, it’s more about understanding that I’m not here to copy Séb, I’m here to do my own thing.”
If, here at DirtFish, we engaged in that popular exclamation of ‘boom’ we’d do that right here.
“I’m not here to copy Séb, I’m here to do my own thing.”
Boom. Indeed.
Back to Elfyn.
“It’s confidence on both sides. I have the faith and belief to say that’s what I want.”
As always Evans isn’t about to sanction M-Sport missing out on any credit when it comes to his development and he shuns the thinking that the new, faster Elfyn has only emerged since he started wearing red and eating sushi.
He added: “I’d done some of that last year. Let’s be honest, 2018 was a fucking disaster in Sweden. I think this thing [the change] started last year with the Sweden pre-event. I was first in the test and I knew the car was crap the year before. I knew – we knew – we had to change something. The team had some good ideas, I had some ideas and we combined them and bang, we came here and we were fast.
“We made a lot of changes. I had the team’s support, I had the time in the test. That gave the confidence to understand this is what works for me and this is what I want.
“It came again after Chile and Argentina, there were elements of the car I was struggling with. I had an idea, tried it, preferred it, went with it and it worked.
“That laid the foundations, I’d already turned the corner a little bit with M-Sport last year, but at the same time it’s early days here and I don’t want to talk things up too much.
“What we’ve had so far is two very specialist events, but it does give a little bit of self-belief that you can have your own direction.”
Evans led into the final day in Monte Carlo, but ended up third. That Sunday in the mountains taught him another lesson about the Toyota.
“It was a little bit forced on the final day in Monte,” he said, “but that was partly my own doing – but I’ve learned from that.
“It’s never easy to do anything in the sport, but the feeling in the car coming naturally is the best way to describe it. Better than saying it comes easily. I’ve found the driving has come naturally in the first two rallies.”
That natural feeling allied to the security of a two-year contract has helped turn good to great and great to potentially one of the greatest.
What’s more, that Sweden win has put to bed my theory on Evans playing a waiting game. Forget that.
Elfyn, we’re not going to get carried away or think a couple of swifts have made a summer, but your time is now, my friend.
