In Thursday morning’s shakedown, Evans was noticeably off the pace of teammate Kalle Rovanperä, who set the fastest time. Over the 6.26-kilometre stage, the Welshman lost 4.1 seconds to the Finn.
Evans remained fairly confident after the test stage. He had contested the Cordoba ERC rally earlier this month as a test, and feels the car has since improved.
“Shakedown was pretty okay. When I finished the test rally. I was not super convinced with the car. But the guys have worked a bit. They changed a setup bit again before we started this morning, and it seems a bit better, but time will tell,” Evans said.
The Canary Islands event has a very circuit-like character, with no corner-cutting and clean asphalt – something Evans appreciates.
“Nice stages. Obviously the closest we come to circuit racing by miles compared to what we do otherwise in the championship. But yeah, all pretty nice and all,” Evans noted.
Hankook’s new tarmac tyres will be seriously tested in the Canary Islands. So far this season, Evans has been the fastest to adapt to the new rubber.
“I feel okay with them (hard compound tarmac tyre), but actually, it’s quite different to what we had in the past. I think the limit of the tyre comes much sooner with what we had in the past,” Evans said.
“The limit of the grip comes much earlier than what we had in the past. If we have very hot conditions with the technical nature of the stages, then managing the tire could be a factor here,” the Toyota star clarified.
On Saturday evening, one of the most unusual spectator stages of the season will take place when SS13 is run inside a basketball arena in Gran Canaria. These short showcase stages are rarely a favourite among drivers, but are part of modern rallying.
“I have be careful what I say now in case I mess it up. I mean like you say, it’s quite unusual to enter the stadium like this, and for sure it’s not the best driver stage, but it’s part of the game,” Evans reflected.
