The second South American round of the World Rally Championship will be held next week in Chile. Whereas many other WRC drivers remained in the same time zone after Paraguay, Evans chose a different path.
Evans revealed after Rally Paraguay that he would travel straight back to Europe following the event. But the trip did not take him to the Welshman’s own home – instead, it was bound for the team’s home base.
“I’m not going there. I’m actually going to Finland,” Evans surprised.
Evans did not specify the reason for the trip, but most likely he will complete some testing in Finland before Rally Chile.
Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta posted on Instagram immediately after Rally Paraguay, showing a private jet in which he was accompanied by Evans and Sébastien Ogier. Reportedly, the entire trio headed back to Europe between the South American rallies.
Meanwhile, Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä and Sami Pajari opted for a holiday. The pair headed straight to Florida in the United States for some time off. Rovanperä’s co-driver Jonne Halttunen, along with his colleagues Scott Martin, Aaron Johnston and Martijn Wydaeghe, went on a hiking trip to Peru.
Taking a holiday is of course beneficial, but the decisions also relate to adapting to the time difference. When the time zone remains the same between two rallies, the body and mind have more time to adjust properly.
Evans, however, does not believe that his trip to Finland will cause him any difficulties with the time difference either.
“I don’t think so. I just try to stay a bit on the right side of the jet lag by two or three hours. I just delay going to bed and wake up a bit later when I’m at home. So it’ll be fine,” Evans said.
