Evans enters the gruelling gravel competition in Greece from fourth place in the championship standings. The Welshman is still in the title fight, although he is 36 points behind the current leader, Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville.
You can view the full World Rally Championship standings here.
Evans failed to score any points in the previous round in Finland, but he can no longer afford any mistakes. In Greece, Evans needs to outpace his rivals to improve his position in the championship battle.
“The Acropolis is an event where the conditions can be tough but the pace is always high despite that. It’s a long week with some long days, so there’s an element of endurance with the possibility for it to be very hot too,” Evans acknowledges.
Last year, Evans finished second at the Acropolis Rally.
“Last year, we sustained some damage on the Saturday but we somehow made it through to finish on the podium. As usual, we’ll be giving our all and targeting the best result possible,” Evans plans.
In the Rally Finland held in early August, Evans fell out of the lead battle on Saturday due to technical issues. He tried to salvage some points on the final day, but his attempt ended in a crash on the penultimate special stage.
It was a heavy disappointment for the Welshman. However, he has found something positive from the Finnish round.
“The last rally clearly didn’t go to plan for us after a decent start, but at least our road position in Greece will probably be the best we’ve had on gravel all year, so we need to try and make the most of that,” Evans reflects.
The Acropolis Rally shakedown will take place on Thursday morning, with the competition kicking off in earnest on Friday.
