WRC | Rally Portugal, SS21: big engine problems for Evans

In the penultimate special stage of the Rally Portugal comes the twist you don’t expect. While Sébastien Ogier, Ott Tanak and Thierry Neuville are competing for points on ‘Super Sunday’, the race for the 2024 Drivers’ world title may have suffered its first big shake-up of the season.

Elfyn Evans, sixth in the general classification and fourth in the Sunday classification, found himself dealing with a major engine problem in the final kilometers of Cabeceiras de Basto 2 which caused him to lose a minute and a half from the leaders.

Having arrived in the last sector, Scott Martin – Evans’ navigator – stopped giving notes to the Welsh driver, warning him of the engine problem. It was overheating, but it is not yet clear what caused it.

At that point the Toyota Gazoo Racing crew preferred to finish the special in fully electric mode, and then stop after the Time Control and look for what caused the failure. Martin, having reached the finish line of the test, asked the stewards for as much water as possible to use it, if necessary, in case a loss of fluids occurred during the special.

It is not yet clear what slowed down the number 33 GR Yaris Rally1, nor whether Evans and Martin will be able to continue the race. If this were not to be the case, an opportunity would open up for Thierry Neuville that should not be missed, considering the points he took home yesterday and those he could collect today among the ‘Super Sunday’ rankings and, possibly, additional ones for those who finish in the Top 5 in the Power Stage.

Meanwhile, Ott Tanak won SS21 and, in doing so, rose to the top of the Sunday standings, provisionally grabbing the 7 points that his current position guarantees. Sébastien Ogier, who is not racing to win the World Championship, has decided to manage his advantage and will enter the Power Stage with a margin of more than 10 seconds over his rival for victory.

As for the points on Sunday, the 8-time world champion will have to be careful, because Thierry Neuville has come very close thanks to his second place in the special stage and wants points to take as much of a lead from Evans as he can.

Also noteworthy is the unfortunate retirement of Gregoire Munster. Just over 2 minutes after starting the special, the Dutchman cut too much into a left-hand curve, ending up in a semi-spin which resulted in him having 2 wheels – the front ones – off the road at a point where the there is no public. For this reason he was blocked and was forced to retire. Truly a mockery for him.

The twists and turns continue in WRC2, with Jan Solans having regained first place in the category standings. The Spaniard, at the wheel of the first Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, overtook Josh McErlean again and is 6.4 seconds ahead of him with just one test left until the end of hostilities.

WRC 2024 – Rally Portugal – Ranking after SS21

WRC – Rally Portugal – ‘Special Sunday’ ranking