Elfyn Evans has managed to claimed victory at the Rally de Portugal for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team. The team is celebrating its third win and double podium finish from four events so far in 2021. On the other hand, Sebastien Ogier clinched third place to continues to lead the drivers’ championship. Ogier still lead two points from Evans while the team has extended its lead in the manufacturers’ standings.
Along with co-driver Scott Martin, Evans drove a consistent and intelligent rally and was rewarded with the lead on Saturday afternoon. His advantage coming into the final day’s five stages was a narrow 10.7 seconds, but he stormed through the opening test 8.9s quicker than anyone else to almost double his margin. He claimed two further stage wins later during the morning – bringing his tally for the weekend to six – and ultimately sealed victory by 28.3s. It’s the fourth win of his WRC career, and his third since joining Toyota at the start of 2020.
Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia recovered well from the disadvantage of running first on the road on Friday and sweeping the loose gravel stages. Securing third overall, he saved his tyres for the rally-ending Power Stage to try and secure as many points as possible. He set the third-best time, giving him three bonus points and his two-point advantage in the standings over Evans, who was fifth-fastest in the same test as he sealed the overall win.
Takamoto Katsuta also claimed the best result of his career to-date by finishing fourth place. The Japanese driver is driving a Yaris WRC as part of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program.
After retiring due to technical reasons on Saturday afternoon, Kalle Rovanpera restarted this morning, taking the opportunity to gain further knowledge and also setting the fourth-best time in the Power Stage.