Evans started the WRC season opener strongly, winning the opening two stages before going on to lead the rally at the end of Friday.
However, on Saturday the Welshman dropped away from the victory fight after losing the feeling behind the wheel of his GR Yaris as the asphalt roads became dirtier. He also lost ground to a hybrid issue on stage 10.
While eventual winner Thierry Neuville and second-place finisher Sebastien Ogier became locked in the fight for victory, Evans elected against taking extra risks.
Evans did end the rally strongly, finishing third outright and second in the ‘Super Sunday’ classification, which earned him six points under the new points system.
As a result, Evans left Monte Carlo with 21 points, his highest ever haul at the event, just nine points behind the early championship leader, Hyundai's Neuville.
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Reflecting on Evans’ performance, Latvala praised his driver’s foresight to maximise championship points in a challenging environment.
“He started really well, and I think he was very confident on Friday being first on the road, [that] was really good,” Latvala told Autosport.
“Then, when the road position was changed, maybe he couldn’t exactly get the set-up working as when he was the first car on the road and was not as comfortable when there were more cuts.
Source: Autosport