Triple Australian Rally Champion Eli Evans has said his only disappointment from the 2015 season is not having the chance to properly settle the score in an ‘Evans versus Evans’ battle with older brother Simon.
“For sure a fair fight was what we both wanted, and at the start of the season we agreed that we’d go stage for stage until one of us had a problem,” said Eli when asked if he regretted not being able to enter into a clean fight with Simon.
“We always knew that this year was going to be on of those rare times where we were both in outright cars and we were able to fight. Unfortunately we never really got that chance, hopefully we get another opportunity to race each other.”
With Simon scoring four Australian Rally Championship’s, with three as a Toyota factory driver and the fourth as a Mitsubishi privateer, against Eli’s three titles, two as a factory Honda driver and the most recent with Citroen, the debate over who was the faster has raged for a number of year.
Circumstance and timing though had prevented a season long battle for taking place, until this season with Simon entering Eli’s former Honda Civic and then Honda Jazz, with Eli stepping into the Citroen DS3. Unfortunately it turned into a non-event on four occasions, while Simon opted out of the season ending rally in South Australia.
So will we get another chance to potentially see Simon and Eli square off next season? “Neither of us know what we’re doing next year, I can honestly say that, but hopefully if we’re both in the ARC we’ll have another chance to fight,” Eli admitted.
“I think we’ve got a fair bit of mutual respect now. I always thought he was the faster brother, I think in the last six rally starts I’ve beaten him. Not always for pace though, but rallying is about finishing and we’ve been able to do that.”
“Our true battles date back to the first time he drove the (rallyschool.com.au) Mazda, when he did two rallies that year. To say at that stage that I’d be able to beat my brother, a four time Australian Rally Champion, over the next six rallies was something I wouldn’t have believed.”
“It’s a record I’m proud of. It’s probably not something Simon has given to much thought about,” Eli laughed. “But I know he’s proud of me, in the same way I’m proud of him.”
Eli went on to suggest that there might be another Evans brother both he and Simon will have to keep an eye on.
“Tom’s only twenty, he’s only young and just started rallying this year in the Polaris series, the Side-by-Side series, he’s been doing extremely well winning events and he’s probably just as crazy as Simon and I behind the wheel.”
“Simon’s a competitor through and through, he doesn’t want to be beaten by his little brother any more than I’d want to be beaten by my little brother Tom. You never know, you might see a three way Evans fight at rallies!”
“It will take him a few years to get up to speed, that’s how rallying works, and I guess by that stage Simon will be 85 and I’ll be in my 40’s,” joked Eli.
“It’d be a cool thing having three Evans brothers rallying, and of course my sister Kylie rallies too. We’re all incredibly lucky, I’ll be the first to admit that. Dad loves rallying, and we all love driving, so it’s a combination that works pretty well.
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