By Paul Evans
Elfyn Evans leads the Tour of Corsica tonight after a fast and furious opening day of competition on the sunny Mediterranean island.
The 30-year old Dolgellau ace led after setting the fastest time on the opening stage, dropped to second for two stages and then bounced back to retake the lead with two stunning fastest times in the afternoon.
The only drama was when the M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC driver caught Kris Meeke on today’s sixth and final stage. The Ulsterman had started the stage with rear suspension damage on his Toyota Yaris WRC, and could do little to avoid delaying Evans when the flying Welshman caught him on a narrow and twisty Tarmac section.
The organisers calculated how much time Evans had lost and refunded him, meaning that he and co-driver Scott Martin ended day one in the lead – 4.5 seconds ahead of second placed Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) and 9.8 seconds ahead of third placed Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC).
There is no doubting that Evans has been the star of the 2019 Tour of Corsica so far. Now the action moves from the south of the island, near Porto-Vecchio, to a monstrous middle day of competition in the north, nearer to the rally base of Bastia. Saturday’s leg contains over half of the entire event’s total stage mileage, with the longest stage of the event, the 29.3 mile Castagniccia test, tackled twice.
“It’s been a positive day and the car has felt really good,” said Evans. “This is the type of rally where you have to be smart and efficient, and I felt like we drove well. We were able to carry the speed through the corners, and keep a smoothness in the driving which seems to be doing the trick.
“There’s going to be a big battle tomorrow and our plan is to stay in this position. Ott [Tänak] and Thierry [Neuville] will both be pushing hard, but we know when everything is working that we can be faster. I’m really looking forward to the day. There’s quite a mix of stages with a bit of everything. It’s all about being adaptable.”
Tour of Corsica – top 8 after SS6
1. Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin (Ford Fiesta WRC) 1:09:39.6
2. Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) +4.5
3. Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +9.8
4. Dani Sordo / Carlos del Barrio (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +26.1
5. Teemu Suninen / Marko Salminen (Ford Fiesta WRC) +30.9
6. Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (Citroen C3 WRC) +36.3
7. Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferme (Citroen C3 WRC) +46.3
8. Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +2:27.9