Evans to rejoin WRC Rally Sardinia to salvage points

Evans had been leading the rough gravel rally heading into Stage 3 when his GR Yaris suffered a heavy impact in a compression, which resulted in a water leak on the car.

Unable to rectify that problem on the road section, last year’s championship runner-up was forced to retire from the day, ending any hopes of a solid points haul.

Toyota has since been able to repair the GR Yaris on Friday evening which will offer Evans a chance to rejoin the rally to challenge for power stage points come Sunday.

“The car is already ready and it is in parc ferme, so he is good to go and start tomorrow," said Toyota sporting director Kaj Lindstrom.

Evans’ exit punctuated a bittersweet day for Toyota as team-mate Esapekka Lappi ended Friday with a 0.7s lead over Hyundai’s Ott Tanak, with Takamoto Katsuta seventh and championship leader Kalle Rovanpera in eighth.

Rovanpera admitted he struggled for pace and confidence being first on the loose gravel roads, resulting in the Finn completing Friday 1m13.1s adrift.

However, the Finn is refusing to rule himself out of the fight, knowing he will receive a better road position on Saturday.

“It was difficult as we expected and even more difficult than in the morning,” said Rovanpera.

“I think the first stage was a bit more sandy so it was not so bad to be the first car in places, but the afternoon had lots of loose gravel, so it was really slippy.

“I really felt I was struggling in the car today in these conditions as you don’t feel confident. Let’s see if we can have better pace tomorrow.

“No [I’m not out of it], and tomorrow is a long day without any service and tough conditions, so if we can have a clean day and faster pace then anything can happen.”

Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota