Dolgellau driver Elfyn Evans returned to the podium after a ‘solid weekend’ at Rally Mexico.

But the weekend belonged to his Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mate Sébastien Ogier who became the undisputed master of the demanding gravel event with a record seventh win.

In what was the FIA World Rally Championship’s first trip to the high-altitude stages in the mountains above León since 2020, and therefore the first of the Rally1 era, the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID performed strongly to lock out three of the top four positions in a thrilling conclusion, with Evans finishing third and Kalle Rovanperä fourth.

Having led from the first stage of Saturday morning, Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais came into Sunday’s finale with a lead of 35.8 seconds, a cushion that allowed them to take a safe approach to the morning’s stages – which included the longest of the weekend, the 35.63 kilometre-long Otates.

Ogier then delivered an incredible performance to seal the victory with the fastest time on the rally-ending Power Stage, securing a maximum score that puts him top of the championship standings by three points – even though he has only contested two of the three events held so far.

This latest record broken by Ogier (who had claimed TGR-WRT’s first Mexico win three years ago) comes after he also set a new benchmark for the number of wins on Rallye Monte-Carlo with his ninth triumph in January.

It also continues the great start to his collaboration with Landais, who was competing in Mexico for the first time.

The team came agonisingly close to securing a one-two finish, with Evans missing out on second place by just 0.4 seconds on the final stage to Thierry Neuville (Hyundai).

Evans and co-driver Scott Martin began the day well, beating their rivals to the fastest time in Otates to strengthen their grip on second.

After sustaining suspension damage they carried out roadside repairs that allowed them to keep up the fight, but they would ultimately have to settle for the third step of the podium after a battling drive.

Rovanperä and Halttunen took away more strong points for their championship defence in fourth place, having ended Friday already a minute off the lead after having to effectively clean a path through the loose gravel stages

Rovanperä pushed hard in the Power Stage in search of bonus points, and set the fourth-fastest time after a wide moment damaged the rear wing of his car. He is now third in the standings, four points behind Ogier.

Evans said: “We had a pretty good start to the final day, but unfortunately just near the end of the long stage we picked up some damage to a suspension arm.

“We could carry out a repair on the road section but I felt I had to try and take care with it through the last two stages, and we weren’t quite able to keep Thierry at bay. It was very close in the end but just not quite enough.

“Overall though it has been a solid weekend. I think we had the speed to finish second and the positive thing is that we are back on the podium after what feels like a really long time.

“So I’m happy for that and also now with the feeling in the car on gravel.”

• Up next is Croatia Rally on 20-23 April, the first pure asphalt round of the season, held on challenging roads around the capital city, Zagreb. As well as a mix of fast and more technical sections, the stages feature constant surface and grip changes.