By Paul Evans
Elfyn Evans was faster than Sébastien Ogier on the opening day of Rally Australia, but yet again showed what a magnificent team-mate he truly is by easing off to allow the Frenchman to get ahead.
Co-driven by Dan Barritt, Evans was eighth and Ogier 10th after SS5, before some quick and strategic calculations saw the Welshman, and indeed the third M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC driven by Teemu Suninen, drop behind and put Ogier and his co-driver Julien Ingrassia up to what they hoped would be eighth.
But when Ogier’s title rival Thierry Neuville lost time when a tyre came off a rim on his Hyundai after a jump on the same stage, the five-time world champion found himself in seventh. And, more importantly, some 30 seconds ahead of Neuville at the end of day one.
Yet despite deliberately dropping time, Evans is still eighth, just 45.2 seconds behind leaders Mads Østberg/Torstein Eriksen (Citroen C3 WRC).
“We focused on delivering a clean and tidy drive through today’s stages,” said Evans. “The competition was really close and I think we did a pretty good job – not far from the lead before the last gravel stage of the day.
“But this is a team sport as well as an individual one and we had to play our part to give Seb the best possible position going into the weekend. We’re all competitors and we all want to compete, but we’re also here to do a job for the team and we have to respect that.”
“It feels strange to say that it’s been a good day when we’re sitting in seventh, eighth and ninth, but we’re in a good position when it comes to the driver and co-driver championships which are our main objectives this weekend,” added M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson.
“Sébastien and Julien had a tough day opening the road, but they didn’t let the frustration distract them from the main objective. They pushed hard, didn’t put a foot wrong, and when Thierry [Neuville] lost time they were able to take the advantage. We were then able to strengthen that advantage by strategically moving Elfyn and Teemu behind – which shows just how much of a team sport this can be come the end of the season.
“Both our young drivers have driven well today, and it was great to see their support. We’re all competitors and it’s never easy to concede a position, but everyone has worked together to give Sébastien and Julien the best possible chance going into the weekend.
“A second drivers’ title is the goal, but this fight is far from over and a lot can still happen over the next two days!”
Rally Australia – top 10 after SS8
1. Mads Østberg / Torstein Eriksen (Citroen C3 WRC) 53:37.4
2. Craig Breen / Scott Martin (Citroen C3 WRC) +6.8
3. Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) +8.7
4. Hayden Paddon / Sebastian Marshall (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +12.5
5. Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) +16.9
6. Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm (Toyota Yaris WRC) +28.3
7. Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (Ford Fiesta WRC) +38.2
8. Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt (Ford Fiesta WRC) +45.2
9. Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula (Ford Fiesta WRC) +47.2
10. Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +1:11.9