Evans wins in Turkey to take back championship lead

(Reuters) - Toyota's Elfyn Evans won Rally Turkey on Sunday to reclaim the lead in the world rally championship from team mate Sebastien Ogier.

The Welshman had been fourth at the start of the final leg but ended up celebrating his second win of the season by a margin of 35.2 seconds as rivals hit trouble on the rocky stages.

Evans leads the championship by 18 points with two rounds remaining. The Welshman has 97 points to Ogier's 79.

"We tried to drive well and stay in the middle of the road and that rewarded us," Evans told the wrc.com website.

"I’m well aware that a bit of luck needs to go your way and I never like to inherit positions from others in that way, but that’s the nature of Rally Turkey."

Hyundai's overnight leader Thierry Neuville, winner of seven of the rally's 12 stages, finished second with team mate Sebastien Loeb a distant third after both suffered punctures on the day's opening stage.

Neuville took the maximum five bonus points from the Power Stage.

"I have the feeling we deserved to have taken more away from this weekend," said the Belgian.

Ogier had been looking good for a podium finish until his Toyota stopped with smoke coming from the engine and he had to retire.

Toyota extended their manufacturers' championship lead over Hyundai to nine points.

The next rally is in Sardinia on Oct. 8-11.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond)