Evans second as Neuville edges closer to WRC title
Elfyn Evans finished seven seconds behind Central European Rally winner Ott Tanak
- Published
Elfyn Evans finished runner-up to Ott Tanak in the Central European Rally as Thierry Neuville edged closer to his first world title.
Belgian Neuville leads Hyundai team-mate Tanak by 25 points in the World Rally Championship (WRC) with one round to come.
Evans is now third in the overall standings, moving above fellow Toyota driver Sebastien Ogier who crashed out on the penultimate stage, the French eight-time champion losing all his points for the weekend.
The Welshman collected nine Sunday points to go with 15 from Saturday, having won three of the rally's 18 stages raced across Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic.
"I feel okay [about the weekend]," said Evans.
"Of course it's hard to be happy after a weekend like that. Some good moments, not a bad weekend overall."
Thierry Neuville has won twice in 2024, at Rally Monte Carlo and Acropolis Rally Greece
Evans and co-driver Scott Martin - who were WRC runners-up in 2020, 2021 and 2023 - have a 19-point advantage over fouth-placed Ogier and are 15 points behind Tanak.
Neuville requires just six points at Rally Japan from 21-24 November to seal the 2024 title.
He finished third in the rally almost 40 seconds behind Estonian Tanak, having dropped out of contention for victory - and a chance to clinch the title - when he got stuck in a field on Saturday.
"We were in the rhythm on Friday, but after that a small mistake happened, we had to manage our race," said Neuville.
"We would have wanted to bring home the title this weekend, but not at any price. After the mistake we understood it would not be for this weekend. But Japan is coming up and looking forward to it.
"Sorry for the mistake – but even world champions make mistakes."
Hyundai Shell Mobis take a 15-point lead in the Manufacturers' Championship into the final rally of the season. They have 526 points with Toyota Gazoo Racing on 511.
FIA World Rally Championship standings after Central Europe Rally
1. Thierry Neuville (Belgium) Hyundai, 225 points
3. Ott Tanak (Estonia) Hyundai, 200
3. Elfyn Evans (Great Britain) Toyota, 185
4. Sebastien Ogier (France) Toyota, 166
5. Adrien Fourmaux (France) Ford, 146
6. Kalle Rovanpera (Finland) Toyota, 114