Elfyn Evans Secures His First WRC Victory Since 2021 in Croatia

The Toyota driver, alongside co-driver Scott Martin, triumphed on Croatia's demanding asphalt stages, finishing 27.0s ahead of M-Sport's Ott Tanak. However, despite his joy at the win, Evans couldn't shake off his profound grief over Breen's death. He described the victory as insignificant, and his thoughts were with the entire rally community who are mourning the loss of the talented Hyundai driver.

Elfyn Evans opened up about his mixed emotions following his win at the Croatia Rally, revealing that while he was relieved to be back on the podium, his thoughts were with the family of his late friend and rival Craig Breen. The Welshman, who has now won a WRC round on all surfaces, praised the rally community for coming together to honor Breen's memory and demonstrate how beloved he was.

Although the competition went on as usual, Evans emphasized that his main focus was to fulfill his promise to Breen's family to enjoy the weekend. With the rally now over, his thoughts have turned to the family, and he is proud to have made a more positive start to the year compared to lthe 2022 season.

Co-driver Scott Martin paid tribute to his former partner, Craig Breen, dedicating his victory alongside Elfyn Evans to his late friend. Martin navigated for Breen from 2014-2018, and together, they achieved their first WRC podium in Finland in 2016. Martin revealed that the win was an emotional moment for him and that the emotions he had kept at bay all weekend came flooding through as he crossed the finish line.

He acknowledged how hard Breen's passing had hit the rally community but was grateful for how everyone had come together to overcome it. Martin was overwhelmed with the win and said it would take a while to sink in. Toyota boss, Jari-Matti Latvala, believed that Evans and Martin deserved to win the event, given the recent tragedy that had left the rally world numb.

According to Jari-Matti Latvala, the recent rally in Croatia was challenging for the entire rally community, and there were two significant aspects to take note of. First, the event was completed without any major incidents, something that everyone was relieved about after the loss of Craig Breen. Secondly, Latvala believes that Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin were the most deserving pair to win the event, not just from a team perspective but also because of their personal connection with Breen. Evans won the rally and is currently tied for the WRC championship lead with his Toyota teammate, Sebastien Ogier, who is only participating in a partial season.

On Sunday, Thierry Neuville had given up on fighting for position, instead focusing on the power stage. His strategy paid off as he won the power stage by a margin of nine-tenths of a second. However, he couldn't help but feel emotional as he paid tribute to Breen, admitting that missing out on the victory was a tough moment for the team. He hoped his efforts on the power stage were enough to make Breen proud.

The weekend began with Sebastien Ogier taking the lead on the rally's first stage, beating Neuville by 2.6s. However, Ogier's lead was short-lived as he suffered a puncture on SS2 and dropped down the order. Despite losing 1m30s due to the puncture, Ogier regrouped and pushed back toward the front. By the end of Friday, he had climbed to fifth place and was only 50.3s behind the car ahead of him, Lappi. However, his progress was undone when he was penalized for a seatbelt infringement, receiving a one-minute penalty and slipping further down the order.

After suffering a puncture on the second stage, Ogier tumbled down to seventh, just ahead of Rovanperä. Despite the setback, Ogier and his teammate clawed their way back up the standings, overtaking Katsuta and Loubet before duking it out for fourth. Neuville took over the lead on Friday morning, with Evans hot on his heels. The gap between the two drivers fluctuated throughout the day, ending at 5.7 seconds at the close of play. Saturday morning saw Neuville's hopes of victory dashed when he crashed out on the first pass of Ravna Gora - Skrad.

For the second consecutive rally, a Hyundai driver crashed out of the lead on Saturday morning following Lappi's exit in Mexico. Evans then took the reins and held onto his lead, with Tänak closing the gap but eventually suffering from technical issues, allowing Evans to extend his lead to 25.4s at the end of SS16. On Sunday, Evans maintained his momentum and increased his lead to 30.5s. He went on to take his first win in almost two years and his first-ever WRC victory on Tarmac. In WRC2, Rossel held the lead since Friday and finished 29.9s ahead of Gryazin, who made some gains over the weekend but ultimately fell short by 16.1s.

The battle for third place was a nail-biting affair as Emil Lindholm and Oliver Solberg fought tooth and nail until the very end. The power stage began with just 0.7 seconds separating the two drivers, but Solberg managed to push ahead and secure third place overall by a margin of 2.1 seconds. Despite Solberg not being classified this weekend, Lindholm still earned third-place points, which he was pleased with, given the tough competition.