Welshman Elfyn Evans rounded off his first full year in the FIA World Rally Championship with a fifth place finish on home soil with a solid drive through the forests of Wales Rally GB.
Evans along with co-driver Daniel Barritt didn’t make any mistakes throughout the weekend and stood up to the pressure piled on by fellow competitors to take his best finish on gravel.
A joint second fastest time through the second pass of Kinmel Park (SS21) was a highlight of the weekend as he chased down fourth-placed Thierry Neuville.
Although he couldn’t quite find enough speed to overhaul the Belgian driver the pace was promising in a year that Evans has been building on every performance.
“I think we would have taken fifth place at the start of the event for sure” said Evans. “We knew before the rally started that even bettering our result from last year would have been a good achievement given the depth of the entry. To come away in fifth is strong and I think we’ve managed to show some good speed along the way.
“All in all it’s been a good weekend and a good way to finish off the year. I can’t wait to start next season now. We’ve got a lot more experience and I’m looking forward to what I hope will be another successful season at this level.” he added.
M-Sport team principal Malcolm Wilson was impressed with the young Welshman’s performance over the year and especially his mature drive in the final rally of 2014.
“Elfyn has had a really good weekend” said Wilson. “He did exactly what was asked of him and came away with a strong fifth place.
“He didn’t let the pressure of being at home get to him at all and showed some really encouraging speed along the way. I think it’s fair to say that this has been one of his best performances on gravel and we’re all looking forward to seeing what he can do with a year of experience under his belt next year.”
