It was the Welsh driver’s only win last year, and he ultimately finished second in the championship standings. His title hopes, however, faded early in the season, largely due to a lack of wins. This allowed Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville to pull ahead decisively.
Evans has already been runner-up several times, so it’s clear that his primary goal for 2025 is clinching his first World Championship title. It won’t be an easy feat. In addition to Neuville and Hyundai’s Ott Tänak, Evans faces stiff competition from teammate Kalle Rovanperä, who is returning to a full-time schedule.
“Start of a new year again. Like always, expectation is always to try and do our best to win. That’s always the goal, both as a team and as a driver. That’s what we always aim for. We’re going to go out there and give it our best shot.” Evans affirmed.
Much of the pre-season discussion has centered on how the new Hankook tyres will shake up the field. The Korean brand is now the official tyre supplier for the WRC, but drivers have had limited time to test the new rubber.
“We know from Monte Carlo we have the biggest choice of tyres available. And with very limited testing we have nowadays, it’s very difficult to try those tyres in all the different conditions. So you sort of have to do what you can,” Evans said.
“We’ve got quite rainy, wet conditions so at least we’ll have that experience. But of course it’s hard to get the full picture just in one day.”
Additionally, Rally1 cars have seen changes over the winter, as hybrid units have been removed. This results in less power, but the cars are also lighter than before.
The question remains: can Evans find the form he showed in 2020 and 2021, when he fought Sebastien Ogier for the championship until the final rounds? The hybrid cars never seemed to suit him perfectly, but now those units are no longer a concern.
“We know the introduction of Hankook for 2025 and some technical regulations as well mean that we’ll probably have a bit of adaptation to do on all surfaces and a bit of learning to do with a new tire,” Evans noted.
“It’s the same for everyone. We need to do the best job we can to be as ready as we can. I think if we do that well at the start of the season, that should help.”
