DOLGELLAU’S Elfyn Evans in looking forward to getting back to racing action as the World Rally Championship gets back underway with Rallye Monte-Carlo.

The legendary event opens the 2023 season on 19-22 January and Evans’ Toyoata Gazoo Racing team is aiming to begin the defence of its FIA World Rally Championship titles with a victory.

TGR-WRT has set its sights on a third successive WRC triple crown following a successful debut season in 2022 for its GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID car, which swept the drivers’, co-drivers’ and manufacturers’ world championships.

Evans said: “The WRC off-season is always pretty short but I was still happy to take a bit of a break and now I feel ready to go into the new season.

“Last year fell short of my own expectations personally, but we managed to make some progress and I’m hoping to be able to put better results together this season.

“The team is always working to evolve the car, and 12 months in to the Rally1 era we understand things a lot better.

“Like always it should be a competitive year but I definitely feel that we’re in a better place to challenge, and to fight for the title remains my goal.

“Rallye Monte-Carlo is a classic event and one that everyone wants to win.

“It’s always a big challenge, especially with the conditions, but it’s a challenge I enjoy and hopefully we can start the year with a positive result.”