Evans was quickest on today’s shakedown stage for round five of the World Rally Championship, a🔯lthough he was at pain๊s to point out that much tougher tests await between Friday and Sunday.

As the current points leader, the 🎉34-year-old will open the road on Friday and inevitably lose time in the process as he sweeps away the top la♏yer of dust and dirt for the cars following behind.

However, Evans will be all to🃏o aware that a win is not entirely out of the question as his Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mate Kalle Rovanpera demonstrated last year.

Despite starting as the first car on the road, Rovan𒀰pera defeated his British team-mate to make it three victories on the bounce.

“We have to have a car that is comforꦐtable being first on the road with there being very low gri🔥p on the first pass and then, more than likely, very rough conditions on the second,” he explained.

“So, from that perspective, it is always going to be an element of compromise I think tomorrow. However, the plan is to have a set-up that works everywhere I guess and to get through safe🔯ly.”

Evans arrives in Portugal on t꧅he back of 🍃a morale-boosting win; that came on last month’s Croatia Rally which was overshadowed by the sudden death of Hyundai Motorsport’s Craig Breen just days prior.

It was his first visit to the top step of the podium in 18 months and his first on Tarmac in the World Rally Championship. Bu♐oyed by the display, he is aiming to carry that momentum into the Matoshinos-based meeting.

The i🌳nitial signs look promising as his best effort during shakedown shaded Hyundai Motorsport’s Esapekka Lappi by a tenth of a second. M-Sport Ford driver Ott Tanak was half-a-second off the pace in third.

“Everything felඣt pretty OK to be honest,” s🥀aid Evans. “We made a few minor changes throughout the day to prepare for the rest of the stages.

“All felt fi🅘ne in the shakedown but to be honest it was perhaps not the most repr♕esentative of the rest of the rally. Tomorrow will be the true test.”