Evans is contesting the legendary Finnish winter event for the second time in his career. In 2024, he claimed victory in the Arctic Circle with the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, and the Welshman is once again sure to be quick.
However, Evans is not chasing success in Lapland this time. For one thing, he cannot fight for the weekend’s top prize – the reindeer antlers awarded to the fastest crew in the Finnish championship classes.
More importantly, Evans’ main focus is the upcoming Rally Sweden, which takes place in a couple of weeks. The Arctic Lapland Rally serves as preparation for both the driver and Toyota’s Rally1 car ahead of the WRC winter classic.
“We’re just testing and getting comfortable. It’s good to come back to fast roads again, especially after Monte Carlo. So we’re trying to prepare and get the car ready,” Evans said on the eve of the rally.
Evans’ season opener has been hectic, to say the least. Last week, he competed at Rally Monte Carlo, where he secured an impressive second place behind his team-mate Oliver Solberg.
The WRC season opener finished on Sunday afternoon, and Evans was already heading to Finland from Nice Airport later that evening. At the same time, the mild temperatures of Monaco and southern France were replaced by biting winter conditions.
By Thursday evening’s ceremonial start of the Arctic Lapland Rally, the cold was already severe, with temperatures dropping to around –25 degrees Celsius. Evans was visibly shivering on the start ramp, where he gave interview and even posed briefly with Father Christmas.
“It’s definitely not warm, but the welcome is warm, as always. I’m really looking forward to the rally,” Evans said.
“It’s been busy, but it’s part of the game. Of course, we’re very happy to be here and trying to prepare well for Sweden,” added Evans, who finished second in the WRC drivers’ standings last season.
After recce, drivers have spoken highly of the Arctic Lapland Rally’s stages and conditions. Proper winter weather also suits Evans just fine.
“The stages look amazing and very fast.”
The Arctic Lapland Rally gets underway on Friday with six special stages. The event concludes on Saturday, with another six stages to be contested.
