TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team has begun what promises to be a demanding Rally de Portugal with a stage win for championship leader Elfyn Evans in a spectacular opener.
Rally de Portugal marks the first in a trio of hot and rough gravel events in southern Europe, for which the GR YARIS Rally1 is sporting a cool new silver livery.
The action started on Thursday morning with the pre-event shakedown and an important chance to refine car setups before the start. Kalle Rovanperä was quickest after the first and second runs of the shakedown stage and finished up second fastest.
Crews then travelled south from the service park near Porto to the historic city of Coimbra for the start of the rally, which was…