Evans (Toyota/Michelin) triumphs in Turkey

Just hours before celebrating their victory together at the 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours, Toyota and Michelin took the top prize in Round 5 of this year’s FIA World Rally Championship. The laurels went to Welshman Elfyn Evans and his Michelin LTX Force-equipped Toyota Yaris WRC which scored the Franco/Japanese association’s 120th world-class rallying podium.

Michelin snapped up the opportunity to showcase the long-lasting performance qualities of its tyres at Le Mans, their grip in today’s MotoGP at Misano, Italy, and their resilience in Turkey (WRC) by topping the order in all three of these top-flight competitions.

In Turkey, it was the strength and durability of the firm’s LTX Force and Latitude Cross tyres that truly stood out on the brittle, uneven, rock-strewn stages of the country’s Mugla region. Rally Turkey is renowned as being the most punishing event of the WRC season on tyres – and it duly lived up to its merciless reputation.

“It was a challenging weekend, but our tyres did everything that was asked of them,” reflected Arnaud Rémy, Manager of Michelin Motorsport’s WRC programme. “Their resilience was well and truly put to the test, but 90 percent of the time it was the rims that bore the brunt of the impacts, which subsequently led to a loss of tyre pressure. Many of these incidents were incorrectly reported as punctures. After close analysis, our tyres confirmed their strength in the incredibly tough conditions that we encountered on Rally Turkey.”

The fifth round of the championship turned out to be a case of survival of the fittest. Ott Tänak (Hyundai/Michelin) suffered steering failure on Saturday morning, damaging his chances of defending his maiden title. Sébastien Loeb (Hyundai/Michelin) – a surprise leader on Friday night – and namesake Sébastien Ogier (Toyota/Michelin) also lost time during Leg 1.

Belgium’s Thierry Neuville (Hyundai/Michelin) took advantage of these misfortunes to open up a margin of 33.2s over the two ‘Sebs’ – world champions both – who found themselves tied for second on the timesheets on Saturday evening. The following morning, however, Neuville conceded almost two minutes, allowing Elfyn Evans (Toyota/Michelin) to jump to the head of the order, while Ogier dropped out of contention on the penultimate stage due to engine issues.

Following his Rally Sweden victory back at the beginning of the year, Evans’ Rally Turkey triumph has established him as a serious contender for the 2020 title. Neuville and Loeb joined the Welshman on the podium in Turkey, with the result marking the Frenchman’s 60th WRC top three finish with Michelin.

With only two rallies left to run this season, Evans now leads the championship by 18 points from closest pursuer, Ogier.

In WRC2, Adrien Fourmaux (Ford Fiesta/Michelin) finished an excellent second behind Pontus Tidemand (Skoda Fabia) on his debut on the demanding Turkish stages.

Next round: Rally Italia Sardegna (October 8-11).

2020 Rally Turkey – Final positions:

1. Evans/Martin (Toyota Yaris WRC/Michelin), 2h43m2.7s

2. Neuville/Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC/Michelin), +35.2s

3. Loeb/Elena (Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC/Michelin), +59.4s

4. Rovanperä/Halttunen (Toyota Yaris WRC/Michelin), +2m35.9s

5. Greensmith/Edmondson (Ford Fiesta RS WRC/Michelin), +4m8.3s

6. Lappi/Ferm (Ford Fiesta RS WRC/Michelin), +5m36.2s

7. Kajetanowicz/Szcepaniak (Skoda Fabia R5), +12m35.5s

8. Tidemand/Barth (Skoda Fabia R5), +12m59.7s

9. Fourmaux/Jamoul (Ford Fiesta R5/Michelin), +14m42.6s

10. Bulacia/Der Ohannesian (Citroën C3 R5), +14m46.4s

Etc.