Tanak, Evans to fight for careers in Wales

M-Sport pair Ott Tanak and Elfyn Evans could potentially be fighting for their World Rally Championship careers when the championship heads to Wales next month.

Speaking to Autosport, M-Sport team principal Malcom Wilson said "it's a harsh reality" when quizzed on whether his drivers will be driving to retain their seats in November's event.

"I'm not going to guarantee anything," said Wilson, "I've told them both, we'll talk about their future in this team after the next rally. There's potential for other drivers coming onto the market and it wouldn't make sense for me to sign anybody up before I have to."

Both Evans and Tanak, who both retired early from the recent Rally of Spain, have claimed podiums this season, the former with two finishes in the top three. However, the pair have been inconsistent and rarely in the hunt for victories, promoting Wilson to consider other options.

"There have been enough opportunities, but I don't know if they can learn and move on, said Wilson. "They have to find a way to put all of the rubbish to the back of their mind, then get on and do their job."

Welshman Evans belives that he has shown enough promise to be kept on another year saying, " "I've been under pressure for I don't know how long, so you can't add any more pressure. I know we made a step in Spain in terms of confidence in the car, but the combination's still not good enough on gravel"

"It's clear the car can do it and now we have to. We're testing for two days before GB and I have to find that confidence and there are a couple of things we can try," he added. "I want to stay here, of course I do. I feel I've shown a lot of glimpses of what I can do and once they come together, it can be really, really good."

Meanwhile team mate Tanak is certain that he has the pace to once again fight for the podium at the season finale.

"I have been to GB a few times in a World Rally Car and I like the event, it's a fast one. We have good speed on gravel, so now we have to go there and do the same thing. I don't see any reason why we can't fight for the podium."



Image: @World/Red Bull Content Pool