The Finnish Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota), who is 33 points ahead of his British teammate Elfyn Evans, can definitely knock out the competition with two rounds remaining but he will also have to count on a failure from the Welshman.

With 60 points still at stake during the Central European rallies at the end of October and Japan in mid-November, he must almost achieve a flawless performance on the Chilean tracks to score the maximum of 30 while, at the same time , Evans must not register more than three.

For its return to the calendar after four years of absence, the Chile rally, the only South American round of the season, therefore promises a tough battle between the two Toyotas, with perhaps the Belgian Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) as referee.

But his retirement three weeks ago during the Acropolis Rally, combined with the Finn’s victory in the land of the Gods, almost destroyed his title hopes. He had also conceded after his failure in Greece which pushed him back to 66 points behind Rovanperä even if there are 90 points left to distribute before Chile.

The Estonian Ott Tänak (M-Sport/Ford), last winner in Chile in 2019, is 81 points behind the reigning world champion and therefore has even fewer possibilities of creating a surprise…

Evans, on the other hand, still believes in his title chances but knows he does not hold all the cards: “The gap is big and must inevitably be reduced if we want to have any chance of succeeding at the end of the year. It’s not impossible, but we’re starting to be in the zone where he (Rovanperä) will have to make a little mistake here and there. We’re really going to have to win rallies.”

“Of course, everything remains to be done and we will continue to give everything until it is no longer possible. Of course, Kalle is driving extremely well at the moment, and obviously he’s going to be difficult to catch given his current speed, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to stop trying to catch him,” added the Welsh driver.

In the absence of Frenchman Sébastien Ogier, eight-time world champion and winner of three of the six rallies in which he participated this season at the wheel of the Toyota Yaris, Rovanperä will still start favorite in Chile, having always finished in the Top 4 this year. year, except in Finland, where he was forced to abandon.

The drivers will compete for victory on the Chilean tracks during a long race of 321.06 timed kilometers divided into 16 special stages.