‘Intense calendar’ gets Evans over latest WRC blow

Elfyn Evans claims that the “intense” rallying calendar has helped him recover from the disappointment of not winning yet another World Rally Championship (WRC) championship.

Evans, 36, is a five-time WRC champion and second-place finisher in 2025 behind Sebastien Ogier in the first two years of his debut in Monte Carlo.

The Welshman finished four points ahead of Toyota teammate Ogier in the standings heading into the season-ending Rally Saudi Arabia in November, taking a three-point lead into the race.

Evans said, “There isn’t much time left to think about that, and it’s straight into the new season’s preparation.”

“The sport has probably the least downtime,” he said. That is challenging in and of itself because it doesn’t allow you much time to recover from the previous season.

Before setting foot in the southern French Alps, Evans has spent weeks testing his brand-new Toyota Yaris Rally1.

“The transition between the start of a new season and the end of a previous one is relatively simple,” he continued.

Evans has now surpassed Ogier on three occasions, including in the 2020 season when he also held a championship lead into the final round at Monza before losing the title due to a crash.

He came in second behind Thierry Neuville and Kalle Rovanpera in terms of overall performance in 2023.

The Toyota Gazoo driver hopes that 2026 will mark the year he finally surpasses Colin McRae (1995) and Richard Burns (2001) in winning the WRC title.

“It’s hard. Win the title is always the goal. Naturally, it’s disappointing when you don’t hit your goals,” Evans said.

“But this year offers another chance, and there is a championship up for grabs,” she continued.

In the traditional season opener in 2021, Evans placed second after finishing second in Monte Carlo 12 months prior.

“Mont Carlo has a few new challenges, a few new stages, and the conditions there always throw up a surprise,” Evans said.

To start the year off right, “it’s always a bit of a lottery.”

This year, the drivers will face a 14-event campaign.

Croatia will take over the Croatian Rally, which was co-hosted by Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic.

The series will wrap up with the contentious Saudi event, which first appeared in 2025, for a second year.