WRC crowns champion after rival crashes on penultimate corner whilst set to take title

Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin have been crowned 2026 World Rally Championship champions after title rival Oliver Solberg crashed just two corners from the finish of the final powerstage of the Rally Italia Sardegna, handing Evans the crown in the most dramatic possible fashion.

Evans becomes the first British world champion in 25 years, and only the third Briton ever to win the title, following in the footsteps of the late Richard Burns, who lifted the crown in 2001, and the late Colin McRae.

Going into the powerstage in Sardinia, the title picture was on a knife edge. Solberg — whose father, Petter, won the WRC title in 2003 — led the rally outright while Evans sat fifth, and the Swede also topped the Super Sunday standings, with Evans set to score nothing after stopping to change a puncture on the penultimate stage.

It meant the two title protagonists — and Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT team-mates — were effectively separated by a single point, with the powerstage result set to decide the championship.

Evans had all but given up hope after completing his own powerstage run, admitting he had "overdriven" the Sassari test.

Alarm bells rang further when Sami Pajari, running two cars behind Evans, went 2.2 seconds quicker, a sign that running higher up the road through the rutted, sandy stage was far from an advantage.

Solberg then set about erasing the deficit. He was fastest of all at the first split and, though he couldn't live with Thierry Neuville's pace, was 1.9 seconds up on Evans with just 1.2 kilometres left to run.

Solberg two corners from glory

But the title bid unravelled in an instant. With only two corners remaining, Solberg lost the rear on a left-hander, snapped the car the other way and speared off the road.

Solberg recovered to complete the stage and still won the rally outright, beating Sébastien Ogier by 57.6 seconds.

But the crash cost him nine seconds on the powerstage compared to Evans, enough to hand the championship to the Welshman.

"I don't think it's quite sunk in yet," said Evans. "I was quite sure that was over. I didn't drive the best stage; I threw everything at it, but it wasn't clean.

"I feel for Oliver as well; he did an incredible weekend. I'm sorry for him to lose it so close to the finish. But we have a lot of people to thank for backing me over the years, Scotty [Martin] for an incredible job."

Solberg was left inconsolable at the finish, having come within a few hundred metres of becoming world champion before crashing in sight of the line.

Team principal Jari-Matti Latvala and Ogier had to coax him onto the powerstage podium, where he struggled to hold back emotion as the Swedish national anthem played despite falling short of the title.