ELFYN Evans ended fourth in last weekend’s Rally Mexico.

The Dolgellau star just missed out on the podium as team-mate Sebastien Ogier powered to his first victory for the Toyota Gazoo World Rally Racing team.

The finish of the event was brought forward to Saturday evening, a decision taken in the face of fast-changing travel restrictions connected with the global coronavirus outbreak to ensure safe and timely travel home for officials, competitors and team personnel.

Ogier dominated proceedings after taking the lead on Friday’s second stage and eventually crossed the line 27.8 seconds ahead of his closest rival Ott Tanak of Hyundai with Ford’s Temmu Sinunen third.

Ogier moves into the lead of the championship ahead of team-mate Evans, who finished a strong fourth with co-driver Scott Martin after running first on the loose gravel roads on Friday.

Evans said: “It’s not been an easy weekend but I felt like we drove pretty well.

“I think we maximised everything but with the road positions it didn’t work out.

“We made a few little errors and we picked up some little issues along the way, so we weren’t able to challenge.

“I’m a little bit disappointed but at the same time, fourth place after opening the road on the first day in Mexico is not so bad. All three Yaris WRCs are here at the finish, so it’s a testament to the team and the strength of the car.”