Evans “rode his luck” in Paraguay – what next for his title run?

Elfyn Evans tripled his championship lead in Paraguay, but he wasn't pleased with his performance

Photography by Toyota

Words by Luke Barry & David Evans

Tripling his World Rally Championship points advantage and claiming his first podium finish since April represented a brilliant return for the championship leader.

But for most of Rally del Paraguay, neither looked particularly on the cusp of happening.

However misfortune for both of his Toyota team-mates and rivals for the championship – Kalle Rovanperä with his puncture on Saturday afternoon and the powerstage downpour that gifted Evans second place and cost Sébastien Ogier far more bonus points – played beautifully into Evans’ hands.

The assessment?

“I rode my luck today.”

His lead is up from three to nine points, but realistically?

“It doesn’t change a lot though, does it?” Evans smiled. “It’s all very close and it keeps everything tight.”

Evans wasn't pleased with his speed last week

While the end result – second place and 22 points – was hugely positive, Evans spent a lot of the event frustrated by his pace.

Carrying the handicap of running first on the road after ceding that to Ott Tänak in Finland, Evans was perhaps never going to lead – but ended one of the stages declaring: “It looks like I’ve forgotten to drive in these conditions”.

There were similar throw-away remarks of the same ilk throughout the weekend, leaving Evans aware that he has work to do to win this championship from the front.

“I mean it’s not been the best weekend, that’s clear,” he told DirtFish. “It’s been a struggle for most of it.

“Things got better as the weekend went on and the feeling was a bit better again today. The speed was not bad today actually, with the exception of my little trip to the scenery this morning, which we were quite lucky to get away with.

“Other than that, it was obviously unlucky for Séb, a bit unlucky for us. Obviously, we also got a little bit of rain compared to the guys in front of us. But of course, it just got worse and worse.”

In 10 events, Evans is yet to finish outside the top-six this season

Evans’ best route to this championship title would appear to be his consistency.

In 10 events this season, he’s finished in the top-six 100% of the time and on the podium 50%. He showed that dependability again in Paraguay, as the only Rally1 driver not to run into any tire-related drama.

Before the event, DirtFish’s David Evans compared Elfyn’s approach to Richard Burns – having a strategy and sticking to it. However the Welshman sees this more as more of a weakness than a strength.

“I’m not sure if that’s exactly the way, but I think when things are working well and I’m comfortable, I think I can be pretty fast,” Evans replied. “But obviously, when things are not going so well, then I definitely do struggle more than the others.

“So I am a bit sensitive to that. And obviously, it’s a weakness I’m trying to work on over time, but it doesn’t seem to be getting very far with it!,” he laughed.

Although he remains third, Ogier is increasingly becoming the biggest threat for the title. He’s yet to finish off the podium in seven starts, and has won four of those.

In fact Evans has not managed to beat Ogier on a single event overall yet in 2025.

In the heat of the moment, frustrated by the rain that cost him points, Ogier defiantly claimed he was going to win this championship. What are Evans’ thoughts on that?

“Well of course we’re all here because we want to win,” he said. “I think his performance here has been exceptionally strong like it has been for many, many other rounds this year and I have no doubt that he’s going to be tough to beat.

“But you know, that’s obviously all our targets. And this rally doesn’t change anything for me on that front.”

Focus instead switches to Chile, where running first on the road could really hurt.

“We could be in for a tough job still, opening in Chile if it’s dry,” Evans contemplated. “It is what it is and we’ll have to just get on and do the best job we can.”

Words:Luke Barry

Tags: Elfyn Evans, Rally del Paraguay, Rally del Paraguay 2025, WRC, WRC 2025

Publish Date September 4, 2025 DirtFish https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2025/09/vgPp9Ezt-Evans10PAR25cm474-780x520.jpg September 4, 2025

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