It’s an outline of occasions that, remarkably, matches both of the 2 seasons the place one of many Toyotas flew, and the opposite flopped.
Whereas three years in the past it was Rovanperä in cost and Evans fumbling, it’s roles reversed in 2025. Evans holds a 57-point lead over his team-mate, whereas again in 2022 Rovanperä headed Evans by 59.
Is that this purely coincidence, or is there synergy to be discovered on this weird, twisted repetition of historical past?
The similarities
Calling Rovanperä the outright pre-season favourite for the title this yr wouldn’t fairly be honest, however given his domination of the WRC from 2022-23, his full-time return in 2025 – after a half-year out in ’24 – was predicted by many to be the Finn selecting up the place he left off.
Forged our minds again to 2022, and the sensation was related for Evans. Granted, he wasn’t a world champion like Rovanperä is, however with Sébastien Ogier making his full-time retirement from the WRC, the Welshman was seen as his pure successor given he had taken Ogier to a closing spherical decider in each of the earlier two seasons.
And each these conditions unravelled when the technical rules had been tweaked.
