Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin Are 2026 WRC World Champions!
After years of coming agonisingly close, Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin are finally FIA World Rally Champions. The Toyota Gazoo Racing pairing secured their first WRC drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles at Rally Italia Sardegna on Sunday, 4 October 2026, bringing one of the most dramatic championship battles in recent memory to an extraordinary conclusion.
Evans has experienced more than his fair share of WRC heartbreak. Five previous championship campaigns ended with the Welsh driver finishing runner-up, including a four-point defeat to Sébastien Ogier in 2025. This time, however, Evans and Martin finally reached the top, ending the 2026 season with 243 points, five ahead of Oliver Solberg on 238 and six clear of Sami Pajari on 237.
What made the championship victory even more remarkable was how late the outcome was decided. After an entire season of rallying, the battle effectively came down to the final kilometres of the final Power Stage, with Solberg appearing to have the championship in his hands until an incident just two corners from the finish changed everything.
Three Toyota Drivers Entered the WRC Title Showdown
Rally Italia Sardegna became the final round of the 2026 WRC season following the removal of Rally Saudi Arabia from the calendar. That left three Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers with an opportunity to become world champion for the first time, although Evans arrived in Sardinia holding a significant advantage.
Evans entered the finale with 230 points, putting him 17 points ahead of Pajari and 21 ahead of Solberg. However, Sardinia offered up to 35 points through the overall rally classification, Super Sunday standings and Wolf Power Stage, meaning neither of his Toyota team-mates was mathematically out of contention.
The championship leader also faced the disadvantage of opening the road on Friday. Sardinia’s loose gravel meant Evans was effectively sweeping the surface for the competitors running behind him, which cost him valuable time throughout the opening stages. By the end of Friday, Evans had slipped to sixth while Solberg had climbed to third and was beginning to apply serious pressure in the championship battle.
Oliver Solberg Takes Control in Sardinia
Solberg produced an outstanding performance on Saturday and moved into the lead of Rally Italia Sardegna. With Evans further down the classification, the 21-point championship deficit that had looked substantial before the rally began was rapidly disappearing.
The Swedish driver continued his charge into Sunday and looked increasingly capable of completing a remarkable comeback. Evans remained fifth overall, meaning the additional championship points available through Sunday’s classification and the Power Stage had become critical to his hopes of finally claiming the title.
Things became even more difficult for Evans during the second run through Osilo–Tergu when he suffered a puncture and was forced to stop to change the tyre. The incident cost him almost two minutes and effectively eliminated his opportunity to collect Super Sunday points. Although Evans remained fifth overall, his virtual championship advantage over Solberg had been reduced to only one point heading into the final stage.
The entire 2026 WRC Drivers’ Championship would therefore be decided on the 7.10 km Sassari–Argentiera Wolf Power Stage.
One Power Stage to Decide the 2026 WRC Championship
The championship equation heading into the Power Stage was remarkably straightforward. With the overall rally positions effectively settled, whichever of Evans and Solberg recorded the faster Power Stage time would have enough points to become the 2026 FIA World Rally Champion.
Evans completed the stage first, but it was far from the flawless performance he would have wanted with a world championship on the line. The Welshman later admitted that his run had been messy, leaving him unsure whether he had done enough to hold off his Toyota team-mate.
Solberg then started the final stage knowing exactly what was required. The early split times suggested that he was succeeding, with the rally leader running ahead of Evans and appearing to be on course to complete one of the most dramatic championship comebacks in WRC history.
After starting the weekend 21 points behind Evans, Solberg was suddenly only a handful of corners away from becoming world champion.
Solberg Goes Off Two Corners from the Finish
The championship battle took its final dramatic turn when Solberg ran off the road just two corners from the end of the Power Stage. He was able to recover his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 and return to the route, but the time lost during the incident proved decisive.
Solberg eventually completed the Power Stage 8.9 seconds slower than Evans, handing the crucial advantage to the Welsh driver. After an entire championship season, Evans and Martin had secured their first world titles through a battle that remained undecided until the final moments of the final stage.
It was a particularly bittersweet ending for Solberg because his performance throughout Rally Italia Sardegna had been exceptional. He still won the rally by 57.6 seconds over Sébastien Ogier, while Pajari completed an all-Toyota podium in third. Evans finished fifth overall, 4 minutes and 48.1 seconds behind Solberg, but the championship points accumulated throughout the season meant fifth place was enough once the Power Stage had been completed.
Five Runner-Up Finishes Before Finally Becoming Champion
The significance of Evans’ victory becomes even greater when considering his history in the WRC. He first finished championship runner-up in 2020 after arriving at the Monza finale with a 14-point advantage, only for his title challenge to unravel when he slid off the road in snowy conditions.
Another second place followed in 2021 before Evans again finished runner-up in 2023 and 2024. Perhaps the most painful result came in 2025, when Sébastien Ogier defeated him for the championship by only four points. Five runner-up finishes in six seasons created understandable questions over whether Evans would ever finally get his hands on the world title.
Instead of defining his career, those near misses ultimately became part of the journey towards his first championship. Evans started 2026 strongly with second place at Rallye Monte-Carlo before winning in Sweden, while another victory followed in Japan. More importantly, he continued collecting valuable points during difficult weekends when his championship position forced him to open loose gravel roads for his rivals.
That consistency throughout the season ultimately provided the points that made the difference in Sardinia. The championship might have been decided during the final Power Stage, but Evans and Martin put themselves in that position through an entire season of consistently competitive performances.
Elfyn Evans Makes British and Welsh WRC History
The championship carries enormous historical significance for British rallying. Evans becomes the first Welsh driver to win the FIA World Rally Championship and the first British WRC drivers’ champion in 25 years.
Richard Burns was the previous British driver to claim the championship when he secured the title in 2001, while Colin McRae became Britain’s first WRC champion in 1995. Evans now joins those legendary names after finally overcoming years of near misses to claim motorsport’s premier rallying crown.
Scott Martin also finally has his World Rally Championship co-drivers’ title after sharing so many of Evans’ previous disappointments. Their success capped another extraordinary campaign for Toyota Gazoo Racing, which had already secured the 2026 manufacturers’ championship and ultimately finished the season with Evans, Solberg and Pajari occupying the top three positions in the drivers’ standings.
Elfyn Evans Is Finally a WRC World Champion
Motorsport championships can sometimes be settled several rounds before the end of a season, while others survive until the final race or rally. Few, however, remain undecided until two corners from the end of the final competitive stage.
Oliver Solberg came extraordinarily close to turning a 21-point deficit into his first WRC championship and still walked away from Sardinia with the rally victory. Pajari was also firmly involved in the battle and eventually finished only one point behind Solberg in the final standings, demonstrating just how closely fought the 2026 championship had become.
For Evans and Martin, though, years of disappointment have finally ended. They endured difficult road positions, a puncture during the decisive Sunday stages and enormous pressure as the championship came down to one final Power Stage. After five previous runner-up finishes, they ended the season with 243 points and, more importantly, the title they had pursued for so long.
Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin are finally FIA World Rally Champions, and after the extraordinary way the 2026 season ended, it is a championship victory that will be remembered for years to come.
