Evans lights 'em up in MML Sports Lancer WRC at RallydayFeraud claims fourth after mighty battle for podium in France
September saw a month of asphalt action for MML Sports, the motorsport preparation company created from the works Mitsubishi rally team. Former British Rally Champion Gwyndaf Evans drove the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC at the Rallyday event at Castle Combe while a week later, Cyrille Feraud was in action on the Rallye Fayence in France, his first in the Lancer WRC on tarmac.
Evans thrilled crowds at the Rallyday event, as he drove the MML Sports Mitsubishi Lancer WRC for the first time in seven years. It came back to the 55 year-old quickly though, as he performed a series of high-speed runs and donuts which the event has become famous for.
Evans is no stranger to Mitsubishi and rallying - he drove in the works team in the British Rally Championship in 2007 and demonstrated the Lancer WRC that same year at Rallyday.
This year, he opened the feature stage at the event, as the first car to run on the circuit and performed a series of tyre-smoking donuts in unison with son Elfyn.
He went on to perform a series of runs on the Castle Combe circuit, taking passengers put forward by the organisers of Rallyday as prize winners or winners through charity auctions.
A week later, the team was back in action, this time in France and this time, actual competition. Cyrille Feraud had been gradually improving his performances in the Lancer WRC on gravel but was tackling his first event on tarmac on the 400Km Rallye Fayence, close to Cannes on the Cotes d'Azur.
He began the event well, with a pair of top three stages times but dropped time on the fourth and fifth stages, demoting him to fourth overall. However, he set about regaining the lost time in the afternoon and set top-three times on the remaining four stages and ended the event with a stage win, to record a result of fourth overall, a tantalising 4.3seconds off third and his first podium on asphalt.
Commenting, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said; "It was lovely to see Gwyndaf again and watch him put the Lancer WRC though its paces. It's a mark of a true professional that he can get back in the car after seven years and after a quick reminder of what switches do what, go out and drive it like he has been doing so for months. It was great to see a proper Mitsubishi rally car driven by a proper driver.
"A week later, we saw the same again, Cyrille put in a fantastic performance on the Rallye Fayence. If he hadn't lost time on the two middle stages, he would definitely have been on for a podium, which would have been a superb result on his first outing in the car on tarmac. I have been really impressed with his performances this year and don't think it will be long before we are celebrating a win with him."
