Evans and co-driver Scott Martin delivered a faultless drive to score a first win since Rally Finland in October 2021 by a margin of 27.0 seconds from Tanak on Croatia’s challenging asphalt stages.
Esapekka Lappi secured third, 58.6s adrift, to score his first podium of the season for Hyundai, who fielded a reduced two car line-up following the tragic death of its third Craig Breen in a pre-event testing crash last week. The South Korean squad honoured Breen by running a special livery on both its i20 N cars.
A turbo issue initially put Evans on the back foot in Thursday’s shakedown, limiting the Welshman to only one run. However, a solid run through Friday’s eight stages left him trailing Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville by 5.7s heading into Saturday after scoring his one and only fastest time in stage 8.
Evans inherited a 19.1s rally lead on Saturday morning when Neuville crashed out in stage 11. The Belgian damaged his i20 N’s left rear suspension following contact with a piece of concrete having misjudged a third gear right-hander.
Neuville’s retirement from the day created a head-to-head lead battle between Evans and Tanak, the latter had been gathering momentum after fine tuning the set up of his Ford Puma. Evans struggled for confidence on roads that became littered with gravel dragged on from the many cuts on Saturday afternoon, which allowed Tanak to pounce.
Tanak closed to within 12.5s of Evans before the Ford driver suffered a transmission problem and a hydraulic issue that restricted the use of the handbrake, costing him valuable seconds in Saturday’s final two stages.
Equipped with a 25.4s lead, Evans produced a measured drive in Sunday’s final four stages to take an emotional victory.
Source: Autosport