Elfyn Evans’ quest for a first world rally championship title looks all but over after the Welsh driver crashed out in treacherous conditions in Monza on Saturday.
Evans slithered off a snow-covered road on stage 11 in the hills above Monza, putting him out of contention for the rest of the day and leaving Sebastien Ogier in pole position to clinch a seventh world crown.
“We came around a flat right corner with a short braking and the surface of the tarmac had changed,” Evans told wrc.com.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“When I braked on that, it was just like glass and there was no chance of us slowing down at all,” Evans said. “It completely caught me by surprise.”
“You’re not going to win anything by sitting around at the back and I think everybody was having to take some sort of chance,” he added.
Evans arrived at this seventh and concluding leg of the COVID-19-disrupted season 14 points clear of Ogier.
With the title favorite now realistically out of contention for a top-10 finish, barring a miracle the title is Ogier’s to lose.
“I’m really sorry for him [Evans],” Ogier said. “There are still lots of kilometers left in the championship, so I went into survival mode. I’m no longer in fighting mode.”
Evans’ Toyota teammate holds a 17.8 second lead over Dani Sordo, who won Saturday’s closing stage back at Monza’s Formula One circuit, with three more to go yesterday.
Organizers canceled stage 12 due to the poor weather forecast with the times for the 10th stage scrapped after an accident.
If Evans’ vehicle is not damaged beyond repair he will be counting on picking up bonus points in the closing Power Stage to give him any chance of stopping Ogier adding to his six previous world titles.
Additional reporting by Reuters
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and