Toyota driver Elfyn Evans’ already slim chances of winning the title have dropped almost to zero on the eleventh special stage of the Rally Central Europe, the penultimate round of the 2023 World Rally Championship (WRC).
Evans would have had to collect more points than his teammate Kalle Rovanperä in the three-country rally through Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic in order to postpone the World Cup decision until the season finale in Japan. But after Evans crashed out on the Bavarian Forest special stage, Rovanperä’s second world title is practically impossible to take away.
6.3 kilometers after the start, Evans left the road in a long right-hand bend and crashed his car into a barn door, which broke. The Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 was so badly damaged that Evans and his co-driver Scott Martin were unable to continue the rally.
The title fight has not yet been decided, as Evans could start again on Sunday and collect points on the power stage. But even if the Welshman wins the Power Stage, Rovanperä only needs four points to decide the World Cup in his favor.
Shortly before the start of the eleventh special stage, the Finn found out about his teammate’s departure, immediately slowed down and lost the lead to Thierry Neuville (Hyundai).
“I knew Elfyn was out, why should I risk anything else?” says Rovanperä. “It’s a shame for Elfyn and Scott, I would have liked to have had a good fight with them. Now the goal is different. We just have to finish and take a few points.”
Neuville leads Rovanperä by 11.1 seconds after eleven of 18 special stages. Third is Ott Tänak (Ford), 1:19.6 minutes behind Neuville. Sebastien Ogier (Toyota), Teemu Suninen (Hyundai) and Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota) are already more than two minutes behind the leaders in positions four to six.
The morning’s three special stages will be run again on Saturday afternoon, and four tests will be scheduled for the final day.