Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin claim 2026 World Rally Championship title

Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin claim 2026 World Rally Championship title

4th October 2026 0 By Kamron Kent

Toyota’s Elfyn Evans has secured the World Rally Championship title for the first time at the Rally Italia Sardegna after, teammate, Oliver Solberg crashes out.

Feature image credit: Jaanus Ree // Red Bull Content Pool

Five-time runner up, no more. Evans has finally claimed his maiden world rally championship title after Solberg made a costly mistake on the final stage of the event, pipping the young Swede to the post by five points. 

Three drivers entered the WRC 2026 finale vying for the title, after the Saudi Arabian event was cancelled; Evans, Solberg and Pajari. 

However the title looked to go down between Evans and Solberg, after the young #99 Toyota cut down his 21-deficit to a single point at the Wolf Power Stage, after Solberg took the rally lead and Hyundai stumbled on Saturday. Sunday saw more trouble for the newly crowned champion as Evans was forced to complete a tyre change on the penultimate season. 

All he had to do was beat Evans on the final stage time to secure the title.

Elfyn Evans WRC championship hopes take another blow after late puncture

Evans had downplayed his chances to take the championship, claiming he had ‘overdrove’ on the Wolf Power Stage, expecting the title to slip from his grasp once more. But, just before the finish line, Solberg made a mistake, two corners before the end, and hit a grass bank in the dunes having oversteered on his way to victory.

In a heartbreaking moment, the Swedish driver could only best eighth fastest, and out of the points on the power stage. In turn, it handed the title back to Evans, and his co-driver, Scott Martin. 

Despite the crash, and to little consolidation to the 2026 vice-champion, Solberg still finished the rally as the winner, finishing the year as he started it. The Swedish driver headed a Toyota 1-2-3, leading Sebastien Ogier and Pajari on the all-Toyota podium. 

Evans now becomes the third British world champion of the WRC, joining iconic names of Colin McRae and Richard Burns, ending a 25-year wait for another British champion.

Championship standings

  1. Elfyn Evans, Toyota – 243 points 
  2. Oliver Solberg, Toyota – 238 points (+5 points)
  3. Sami Pajari, Toyota – 237 points (+6 points)

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Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

CategoryNews Rallying WRC

About the author

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

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