Elfyn Evans returns to top-flight WRC competition for the M-Sport Ford team for Rally Monte Carlo after a season in WRC-2.
Evans takes over Ott Tanak’s Team DMACK seat as the Estonian has been promoted to partner reigning world champion Sébastien Ogier in the M-Sport team.
Evans was previously occupied a top-line WRC seat with M-Sport in the 2014 and 2015 seasons, before being demoted to the WRC-2 team, last season.
He was replaced by Frenchman Éric Camilli, who will now drop down to Evans’ old seat in WRC-2.
Camilli’s debut year in top-line WRC competition was a steep learning curve and finishing eleventh overall in the championship with a best result of fifth in Portugal.
Camilli’s team-mate from 2016 Mads Ostberg’s is not mentioned in the line-up despite his claim that he will be driving a 2017 spec WRC car.
Camilli is not the only topline WRC driver from last year to find himself in WRC-2 for this season.
Volkswagen refugee Andreas Mikkelsen will drive for his old team Skoda, replacing Esapekka Lapi, who joins Toyota’s WRC assault.
In other news, the FIA has set up the FIA WRC Trophy category, which was created for pre-2017 WRC machinery.
Currently, the competition will have one entrant with WRC2 regular Jordan Serderidis, who compete in a Citroen DS3 WRC.
Craig Breen will also take part in Monte Carlo in the old Citroen.
The French squad new C3 WRCs will be in the hands of Kris Meeke and local hero Stephane Lefebvre for Monte Carlo, but Breen will take over the second C3 WRC for Rally Sweden.
Rally Monte Carlo kicks off on Thursday 18 January and will be decided on Sunday 22 January.
