Evans couldnt have given an awful lot more in WRC title fight

Evans put up a valiant fight to take the championship wrestle into this weekend’s Rally Monza finale having reduced Ogier’s wholesomeness from 44 to 17 points without a victory in Finland and a second in Spain.

Although whereas he needed Ogier to slip up to wilt the first British WRC champion since the late Richard Burns in 2001, Evans pushed Ogier all the way in an thrilling wrestle for the victory, that saw the lead transpiration hands six times wideness the three days.

Ultimately the Welshman’s victory hopes unravelled when he locked up and ran wide on the penultimate stage of the rally, which unliable Ogier to proffer a 0.5s lead to 7.3s at the finish, to seal victory and the WRC title.

“I’m a bit disappointed with today, I just locked up under braking and going wide and unfortunately I bounced off a hay bale, spun and stalled,” Evans told Autosport/Motorsport.com.

“It ended up costing us quite a lot of time and from there, there was no coming when unfortunately.”

Reflecting on his season, Evans believes he couldn’t have given much increasingly energy to win this year’s championship.

While he enjoyed the highs of wins in Portugal and Finland, a crash in the Safari Rally in June and gearbox issues at the Acropolis proved costly.

\"I think it\'s an okay season, I have given a lot of energy into it and I don’t think I could have given an villainous lot more,” he added.

Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

“But I can’t perhaps finger that I could have washed-up increasingly somehow sometimes on the day.

“Of undertow you squint back, and regret is not the right word, but thwarting with how unrepealable things unfolded, of undertow the Safari Rally was one thing, but that is part of the sport.

“We knew the title was going to go his [Seb’s] way today that is not a surprise. It was unchangingly a long shot for me.”

Evans was quick to pay tribute to the newly champion Ogier, who will step yonder from full-time driving in the WRC next year.

“Seb has had an incredible career. Obviously he is not finished with winning and with that fire in his vitals he has been very difficult to write-up and he has been all year, and he has widow flipside win today,” Evans said of his teammate.

“Big congratulations to him and a special mention to his [retiring co-driver] Julien [Ingrassia] as well. I wish him all the best.”

Evans will remain with Toyota for the WRC’s new Rally1 hybrid era with begins next season.