Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin have been crowned 2026 FIA World Rally Champions, following a dramatic finish to Rally Italia Sardinia this weekend.
Driving for the Toyota Gazoo Racing team, Elfyn Evans began the weekend leading the World Rally Championship (WRC).
However, this meant starting first on the road, so the Welshman was effectively sweeping the gravel from the tricky Sardinian stages.
He finished Saturday in fifth position, while Oliver Solberg, his championship rival and Toyota teammate, powered ahead to lead the event.
Everything came down to Sunday’s Wolf Power Stage, where Evans suffered a puncture in his Toyota GR Yaris on his penultimate run, and had to stop to change a tyre.
A nail-biting championship finale
Solberg simply needed to beat Evans on this final Power Stage to become champion, and was ahead on split times for most of the way. However, a mistake just two corners from the end saw him run off the road.
This was enough to hand Evans and Martin their first WRC title, capping a career that has seen the Welsh driver win 13 rallies and take 51 podiums.
It also meant Evans and Martin could finally overcome the curse of being WRC runners-up, having finished in second position five times since 2020.
This even included three occasions where they missed out on the final day of competition. His run of bad luck will surely make championship success even sweeter for the 37-year-old Toyota driver.
WRC heads back to the UK in 2027
“I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet,” said Evans, after finally winning the WRC title.
“I mean, I was quite sure that it was over. I didn’t drive the best stage. I threw everything at it, but it wasn’t clean. I feel sorry for Oliver [Solberg] as well – he did an incredible weekend, and I’m sorry for him to lose it so close to the finish there.
“I have a lot of people to thank for backing me for all the years, and to Scotty, obviously, for an incredible job.”
Elfyn Evans is the son of 1996 British Rally Championship Champion, and former WRC driver, Gwyndaf Evans.
He becomes the first Welsh driver, and the third from the UK, to win the World Rally Championship. Colin McRae first took the title in 1995, followed by Richard Burns in 2001.
With the return of the WRC to Britain in 2027, Evans will have a chance to defend his title on home soil. Live coverage of Rally Scotland will be provided by the BBC.
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