Toyota driver Elfyn Evans did his best to limit damage in Greece after having to sweep the road on Friday; this unavoidable disadvantage cost him valuable seconds.
Two flat tires complicated the weekend.
Evans had a measured rally on Saturday, but a tire puncture on the final stage dropped him from fifth to seventh in the overall standings. A second puncture on Sunday further dampened his hopes of scoring points on a strong Super Sunday.
However, time penalties given to several of his rivals after the race moved him back up to fifth place in the final standings. These points proved valuable; his closest competitor, Takamoto Katsuta, finished third.
“"It's too early, it doesn't mean much yet."”
Evans is now leading the championship by 11 points, but he avoids attaching too much importance to the standings.
“"It doesn't really mean much. Of course, it was a bad weekend in terms of points, but it's still very early, so it doesn't really matter right now."”
Next up are two fast gravel rallies.
Next on the calendar are two fast gravel rallies, starting with the Rally Estonia; Evans will again be the first driver to break through there.
“"It largely depends on the weather conditions."”
“Frankly, it’s a very different race. If the weather is very dry, clearing the road can be difficult there too. Also, which stages are scheduled for the first day determines a lot. I haven’t had a chance to examine the route yet.”
“But that’s the situation. We have to prepare as well as we can. That’s always important for these fast rallies; after that, it depends on how you perform on the day.”