Elfyn Evans looks to recreate last year’s success at the Scandinavian event
EXTREME conditions await Welsh rally driver Elfyn Evans, who is striving for success in the Arctic this week.
The second round of the World Rally Championship gets underway this Friday, February 26 and sees Arctic Rally Finland make its debut in the championship.
Despite the unfamiliar territory for the Toyota Gazoo Racing driver, Evans is still positive about his chances.
“Arctic Rally Finland will be brand new for most of the drivers. Naturally, we want to strive for a similar result to Sweden last year, but we have to wait and see how things go,” he said.
Currently he sits second in the drivers’ standings, after his second place finish at the Rallye Monte Carlo last month.
Evans, from Dolgellau in Gwynedd, is nine points behind teammate and reigning drivers’ champion Sébastien Ogier.
The 32-year-old dominated at last year’s Rally Sweden, alongside British co-driver Scott Martin, taking victory by 12.7 seconds.
The Sweden round has been cancelled due to the pandemic and replaced by a round based on the Arctic Lapland Rally, which has ran separately from the WRC since 1966.
In recent years, global warming and weather concerns have meant a lack of snow in Sweden.
However, the drivers will face no such issues this time around, with the event being based in Rovaniemi, the capital of Finland’s northernmost region.
Evans added: “The conditions are likely to be different to what we’ve seen in Sweden in recent years. That’s been something to consider in our testing where it’s been really cold.”
Due to the extreme conditions expected, with temperatures dropping as low as -20C, each car must carry a winter survival kit.
Some stages will taking place inside the Arctic Circle, with teams relying on special studded tyres, as the round is predicted to have some of the highest speeds of the 2021 season.
“We have no prior experience with the tyre, but it’s a bit more straightforward because we only have one choice for this rally, so we’ve been able to focus on that.
“Overall, the feeling is good and I’m looking forward to the rally,” said Evans.
The second round consists of 10 stages, over 251.08 kilometres with shakedown taking place on Friday morning.
This is followed by two runs over the longest portion of the rally at 31.05km, the second of these in the dark.
Saturday sees three shorter runs, but the longest day of the rally ends with another finish after dark.
The rally ends on Sunday with two more runs of 22.47km, including the final Power Stage, where bonus points are on offer.
- The Arctic Rally Finland takes place from Friday, February 26 to Sunday, February 28.
