The Finland classic was not played due to Covid-19 last year, but Evans also missed the 2019 event after injuring his back in a hard landing at the Rally Estonian test event a week before the start of the WRC event.

Evans, whose Toyota Gazoo Racing team is based and a permanent test site in central Finland, dismissed concerns that he hasn’t driven the event since 2018.

“It’s not like everyone else is there every year, is it?” Evans said. “Everyone lost last season, so I don’t see that as a problem. We did a good test [el domingo] Using a narrow and medium road that hasn’t been used in the event since the 1990s.

“Everything went according to plan with the test, we went over everything we wanted and made some changes. It was good.”

The Welshman, who is 44 points behind teammate Sebastien Ogier, who is second in the drivers’ standings, added that he is ready for the sensory attack that always comes with the first jungle speed test in Finland.

“Speed ​​is always a shock,” he said. “No matter how much testing you do before the event, when you start and start the stage, it’s really fast.

Finns generally tend to settle down faster than everyone else and that’s the key. We can’t take long to get used to speed if we want to fight at the front.”