DOLGELLAU driver Elfyn Evans is looking forward to an “all-new challenge” in round seven of the 2021 FIA World Rally Championship.

WRC Renties Ypres Rally Belgium, which starts today, marks a return to asphalt for the first time since March’s Croatia Rally, which was also a brand-new event and where Elfyn’s Toyota Gazoo Racing team began its current streak of five consecutive wins.

Sébastien Ogier leads the drivers’ standings by 37 points over his team-mate Evans, while Kalle Rovanperä is up to fourth place after claiming his maiden win last time out in Estonia.

While none of Toyota’s drivers have competed before in Ypres – which is hosting Belgium’s first ever WRC round – the event has a rich history dating back to 1965.

In that time, it has developed a reputation for its demanding stages on fast and narrow farmland roads around the West Flanders region.

These are often lined by large drainage ditches and include numerous junctions, while dirt is frequently dragged onto the road.

From the service park located in Grote Markt in the historic centre of Ypres, the rally will begin with two loops of four tightly-packed stages through Friday afternoon and into the evening.

Another set of four stages will be run twice during Saturday.

On Sunday the rally moves nearly 300 kilometres to the east of the country and the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit for the final four stages, with the closing Power Stage to use famous sections of the racetrack itself.

Elfyn said: “Like many of the drivers I’ve never competed in Ypres before, so it’s an all-new challenge and we can’t be 100 per cent sure what to expect.

“It will be nice to be back on asphalt again, but it’s very different to what we had last time in Croatia.

“Initially the roads can seem quite straightforward as there are not so many corners and just a lot of straights and very tight junctions.

“But what’s quite evident from our test is that there are a lot of surface changes, grip changes and quite a lot of cutting, so there’s a bit more to it in reality.

“I’ve not done as well in the last couple of rallies as I would have liked, so we’re definitely going to be targeting a strong result.”