Welsh home hero Elfyn Evans has WON the 2017 Wales Rally GB in sensational style – and promptly been mobbed by adoring fans during the ceremonial finish.
He becomes the first Welshman to win the Wales Rally GB.
It was the 28-year-old WRC driver’s first victory in top-line world rallying, making the maiden victory on home soil even more incredible. Evans and co-driver Dan Barritt won the rally by a huge margin of 37.3 seconds from the Hyundai of Thierry Neuville, after dominating the four-day event.
Evans’ team-mate Sebastien Ogier was also a happy man – by finishing third in the Rally GB, he became 2017 WRC champion. It is his fifth world title.
What’s more, Evans’ team, M-Sport, also won the 2017 FIA World Rally Championship title for manufacturers, giving Ford a well-deserved WRC title for the for the Fiesta WRC – despite the team not having the big-budget full manufacturer support of rivals from Citroen, Hyundai and Toyota.
Rallying runs in the Evans family. Elfyn’s father Gwyndaf was also a high-profile rally driver, winning the 1996 British Rally Championship and driving for Ford in WRC. Evans has gone one better than his dad though, in scooping a WRC win – and the popular Gwyndaf will be one of the proudest fathers in the world as a result.
Gwyndaf Evans Motors is today a Ford dealership – and, we’d wager, likely to be a busy one tomorrow…
*COMPETITION* With @WalesRallyGB almost here,here’s a chance to win a Limited Edition Print of Gwyndaf.Just Follow us and ReTweet. Good Luck pic.twitter.com/bLtJE5q2yx
— Gwyndaf Evans Motors (@GwyndafEMotors) October 11, 2017
YESSSS!!! @ElfynEvans and @danielbarritt win @WalesRallyGB to take their maiden victory on home soil ??? #WRC #WRGB pic.twitter.com/NoDptlUmbL
— M-Sport (@MSportLtd) October 29, 2017
Elfyn Evans at Wales Rally GB
