If there had been any doubt about Elfyn Evans’ position in a top WRC team, this was dispelled by his performance this year in Corsica.
A strong Elfyn supporter is his father Gwyndaf, a former British national rally champion and himself a works Ford rally driver.
Nowadays he serves as Elfyn’s WRC safety note driver and before the start of this year’s Tour de Corse, he gave us some insight into this son’s career.
“He is in the right place. His prospects are potentially very good even though the level these days is so high, the margins so small, and the gap between first and tenth now is so small.
"There are so many elements to consider before you reach the top because the margins are so small. It is down to the state of mind, to the personal preparation, to being comfortable and confident within the chassis.
Gwyndaf Evans drives son Elfyn's gravel note car on WRC events. Photo: Martin Holmes
"Confidence is a big thing, for sure. And there is a lot of experience in it as well. I appreciate Elfyn has done quite a lot of rallies now, but so have many of the other drivers in the top 10.”
As for adjusting to the special style of life demanded by the WRC, Gwyndaf suggested:
“I think now he's comfortable with it. It’s a hugely different world to being at home in Central Wales in the village of Dinas Mawddwy. A quite different environment.
"I know he is now very comfortable with WRC life in general, which is good, and of course that reflects in the way he performs. I look at it that he was very competitive in Fiesta ST 12 years ago. If he had not been I wouldn't have invested in him.
"That was the deal we had many years ago, which led to me taking him to Rally France and Rally Finland in 2011. Unless he could compete at the top level we were not going next year. Because basically we couldn't.
Elfyn Evans so nearly won this year's Tour de Corse for Ford.
"But if I look afterwards I do not think he immediately progressed a lot. 2017 was an interesting year because there were glimpses of his real talents in Argentina and Rally GB. People started to think he's there.”
It was a wonderful opportunity when Elfyn had to drive on the special DMack tyres and he didn't blow the chance by winning Rally GB 2017!
“Exactly. To be fair, even Seb (Ogier) said ‘Hats off’ but you still have to drive at that speed and not make any mistakes.”
We were back again in Corsica this year, where he finished second in the rain in 2015 after he had led after three stages.
“That was phenomenal, because he had the same tyres as the other team drivers. I think it was a good enough reason really why Malcolm (Wilson) kept investing in him because he knew one day this lad could be really good.
"And then came Argentina in 2017, where he finished second having led after all but two of the 18 stages. He fought through to the last stage, when there was 0.7 second between him at Thierry Neuville.
Elfyn Evans and his father, Gwyndaf, a former British Rally Champion.
"Elfyn was matching one of the best drivers in the world stage after stage. So when you can do that on a rally like Argentina and then do that on a rally like Corsica, then you've got a lot of the right basic ingredients.”
What is Elfyn's future, where does he see himself going in rallying?
“This is all very much year by year and I think this is partly why possibly we haven't seen the best in him yet (the interview was made before the start of the Tour de Corse this year), but now you can compare him to the top three in the world if you like.
"He does not have to worry about next year and I believe that reflects in your mindset in this game.”
Elfyn with fellow WRC drivers Lappi, Meeke and Neuville in Sydney.
Do you expect him eventually to take over your motor business?
“Yes, hopefully. He was there many years ago and showed a lot of promise in the trade.”
Does having a life mapped out ahead of you give you the confidence of what you're doing now?
“It can work two ways in my mind. You could sit back and say at least I've got something to go to anyway, or you could say I've got nothing and I've really got to make this work.
"So that could work two ways, but for me I know Elfyn knows that he's got the option to come home, but I know that his ultimate future is absolutely that's not even close to his mind. He's got unfinished business, he wants to do this so badly.
"Much as I personally want to see him succeed, I want to see him come home as well. On my other side I am not getting any younger and the business could do with him. But at the minute we have to give him fair play and he doesn't have to think about the business.
"He doesn't have to think about anything other than the job in hand and I think that this is another reason why we can expect to see a lot more of rally driver Elfyn Rhys Evans."
Elfyn Evans won the 2017 Wales Rally GB on DMack tyres.
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We were back again in Corsica this year, where he finished second in the rain in 2015 after he had led after three stages.
“That was phenomenal, because he had the same tyres as the other team drivers. I think it was a good enough reason really why Malcolm (Wilson) kept investing in him because he knew one day this lad could be really good.
"And then came Argentina in 2017, where he finished second having led after all but two of the 18 stages. He fought through to the last stage, when there was 0.7 second between him at Thierry Neuville.
