A reinvigorated Eli Evans returns to the Australian Rally Championship this weekend after a three-year hiatus.
Evans’ most recent ARC event was the 2018 finale after which he was crowned national champion for the fourth time.
From there, Evans took a break to focus on attaining his builder’s certificate, also coinciding with the birth of his third child.
Now 38, he’ll contest the 2022 season-opener, the Netier National Capital Rally, aboard a Mini Cooper with long-time mate Adam Wright as his co-driver.
“I haven’t really missed out on too many ARCs because of all the issues with COVID and stuff, so in terms of going away and having a few years off, it was probably the perfect time to do it,” Evans told Speedcafe.com.
“Have I still got it? I hope so. We’re about to find out.”
Evans this afternoon took part in pre-event testing in Canberra, ahead of reconnaissance tomorrow and competition officially starting Saturday morning.
Since he stepped away at the end of 2018, Harry Bates has become the driver to beat in the Australian rally landscape.
Bates won the title in 2019 and was a front-runner the past two seasons, although COVID interruptions prevented a champion from being crowned.
“We had an awesome year competing against each other in ’18,” said Evans, who also made a point of thanking Shane van Gisbergen for bringing a high-profile presence to ARC.
“It was a really good fight and Harry, I could see his progression through the year from the start to the end.
“His speed and his confidence in his car and the development in the Yaris, it got harder and harder to stay in front of, so I knew he was always going to be really fast, it was just a matter of time.
“And then when we stepped away, Harry had a chance to get in his groove over the last few years and he has really controlled the championship.
“It will be interesting to see how we go against him. He’s been in cars for the last three and a half years, I haven’t; I’ve been in a lot of houses and doing dad stuff, so it’s a different preparation.
“But look, at the end of the day, our cars are a really similar class and if I can work it out pretty quick, there’s no reason why we can’t be right up the front at the pointy end of the field and getting some really great results.”
At this stage, Canberra will be a one-off for Evans, though he’s not ruling out extending his campaign.
“It will be result-based but also if we can attract some sponsorship and some help, then we’ll definitely look at doing further rounds,” he said.
“If we can promote someone’s product or business in the way that they see beneficial and they want us to get to rounds, then that’s something we’re definitely open to and we want to get towards.
“But at this stage we’re just entered for Canberra.
“If we have a really good run here and set ourselves up, then we’ll look at Perth, so it’s really a one rally at a time basis for us at the moment.”
Saturday morning will see the first car on-track from 07:20 local time/AEDT.
Discussion about this post