Evans excited to give Yaris its Irish rally debut
British Rally Championship frontrunners Meirion Evans and Jonathan Jackson will give the Toyota Yaris Rally2 its Irish rally debut on May’s Carlow Stages Rally.
Evans is using the National Rally Championship event to prepare for the Jim Clark Rally, BRC’s third round which takes place a week after Carlow.
“It is almost a year since I have rallied in the south of Ireland,” said Evans. “I am really looking forward to coming back and bringing the Toyota with me.
“When we launched the car in March there were a lot of nice messages of support from Ireland and I would like to think that I am treated like one of their own. It will be nice to go rallying in Carlow.”
Fifth after BRC’s opening two rounds, Evans shone on his Toyota debut – finishing third on the North West Stages.
A runner-up and third-place finish in the last two Irish Tarmac Rally Championships proves that the 28-year-old is an asphalt expert and will be eyeing up a top result on the Jim Clark.
But first he will line up against Ireland’s National Championship contenders Josh and Sam Moffett, Daniel Cronin, and recent Killarney podium finisher Eddie Doherty.
Evans’ addition to the Carlow entry list means there are five different brands of Rally2 car holding the top five seeded positions.
“Essentially it is all about getting a run in the car before the Jim Clark Rally. We have been getting some new parts for the car and going to Carlow is just part of its continual development.
“We will try out a few new things which will hopefully bring us a step forward.
“The car has shown good pace on tarmac in Croatia and the Canaries which is promising. The car will be good and we will try to adapt to it quickly.
“Even on the North West Stages we had 50 kilometres before the event and were able to be on the pace from the start.
“We are looking forward to seeing some old faces in Carlow, having a race against them, and hopefully we can come back again at some point.”
The Carlow Stages Rally was Evans and Jackson’s first event in Ireland back in 2014. Since then they have achieved several podium finishes on the Emerald Isle including victories on the Ulster Rally and Galway International Rally.
Irish rally fans will be hoping Evans’ trip to Carlow is a hint at a possible return to more Irish Tarmac outings.
The British Rally Championship has a two-and-a-half-month break until August’s Grampian Forest Rally. Events in Ireland that will take place during BRC’s break include June’s Donegal International Rally and July’s Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally.
Photos courtesy of British Rally Championship
