[h=2]Evans rules early Saturday Rally GB stages[/h] Saturday, 28 October 2017


FIA









Elfyn Evans continued to drive supremely over Saturday's first group of stages on Wales Rally GB, the Welshman claiming five stage wins from seven tests run to the southwest of the rally base in Deeside. He now has an impressive 46.3 second advantage over Thierry Neuville, the Belgian catapulting himself from fourth to second and, importantly, ahead of championship rivals Ott Tanak and Sebastien Ogier who hold third and fourth, respectively.

Today's route is marathon and takes in nine stages and 142.38 competitive kilometers with the crews out on the road for over 16 hours. Evans has been totally in the sweet spot in his Fiesta WRC and immediately set about extending his overnight advantage of nearly 25 seconds first thing this morning. The Welshman won five consecutive stages to double his advantage before missing out on a clean sweep of victories when Neuville clocked the fastest time in SS13 as Evans struggled for grip.
After making some overnight changes to the center differential, Neuville has felt more comfortable and started to reel in Ogier and then Tanak. He overhauled the reigning world champion after three stages and then snatched second position from Tanak in the following one as both M-Sport drivers struggled to match the pace. Determined to continue fighting for a first world title, Neuville needs to keep ahead of his rivals – at minimum – despite being aware the championship permutations are currently swinging in Ogier's favor. Neuville also won the last spectator stage in the group before heading back to service. Ogier, and teammate Tanak, are both bemused by a lack of speed and having to fight hard as the battle for second position plays out between a handful of drivers.