Elfyn Evans won the Croatia Rally and then paid tribute to Irish driver Craig Breen, who was killed during testing for the World Rally Championship event.
Toyota driver Evans finished 27 seconds ahead of Estonian Ott Tanak’s Ford Puma for his first victory of the season.
The Welshman held an Irish flag on the podium during a minute’s silence for Breen.
“It feels so insignificant now again really, that’s the bottom line,” said Evans.
“We’ve been working towards this for a long time, but it’s surprising how little it means just at the moment.
“We’re back to missing our friend after the real focus on the weekend and straight away after crossing the finish line that’s all we can think about.”
Breen, 33, was killed when his Hyundai was involved in an incident on Thursday, 13 April. His co-driver James Fulton was unharmed in the accident.
“We promised the [Breen] family we’d enjoy the weekend, we’ve done that. I’m sure they were following us, but we’re definitely thinking of you,” added Evans.
The Welsh driver inherited the lead in Croatia after Belgian Thierry Neuville hit a rock midway through Saturday’s stage 11 and went on the secure his first win since the Finland Rally in 2021.
He joins team-mate Sebastien Ogier at the top of the WRC standings, with both Toyota drivers on 69 points after four of 13 rounds.
Ogier, who was penalized one minute for driving while his belts were not correctly fastened on stage two, finished fifth in Croatia having already won at Monte Carlo and Mexico this season.
Evans, the 2020 and 2021 WRC runner-up, had finished fourth in the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally and fifth in Sweden before taking third in Mexico.
The next event is the Rally de Portugal, 11-14 May.
Source – BBC Sport
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