Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin Win WRC Champsionship 2026
On Sunday at Rally Italia Sardegna, Elfyn Evans and his co-driver Scott Martin delivered the most heart-stopping, jaw-dropping finish in modern rallying history. Five-time championship runners-up they have clinched their maiden WRC world titles in the final few hundred metres of the entire season.
It ends a 25-year wait for a British WRC Champion, cementing Evans alongside legends Richard Burns (2001) and Colin McRae (1995).
The final round in Italy was a three-way, winner-takes-all showdown between TOYOTA GAZOO Racing teammates Elfyn Evans, Oliver Solberg, and Sami Pajari. Evans had held the championship lead for most of the year, but a punishing second half of the season had eroded his 21-point cushion down to just a single point.
On Sunday, it looked like heartache was on the cards again for Evans. A devastating tire puncture on the penultimate stage forced a wheel change, leaving Evans stranded in fifth overall and seemingly out of the points equation.
It all came down to the final Wolf Power Stage. The math was simple: Oliver Solberg was leading the rally, and if he set a faster time than Evans on the stage, the world championship belonged to the young Swede.
Evans completed his run, admitting he "overdrove" the dusty Sassari test and fully believing the title had slipped away. Solberg flew down the gravel tracks, on target to claim the title. Then, with just two corners and roughly 100 metres left of the entire season, disaster struck for Solberg. He ran wide, slid down a bank, and though he managed to recover and win the rally itself, the lost seconds cost him the vital Power Stage bonus points.
When the dust settled, Evans had snatched the driver's crown by a mere five points.
While the final stage was defined by dramatic luck, Evans was quick to point out that the title wasn’t won or lost in just those final seconds. "It wasn't won here. It was the season's work," he reflected.
The 37-year-old Welshman's road to glory in the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 was built on relentless consistency. A dream start with second place in Monte Carlo followed by an emphatic victory at Rally Sweden put Evans in the driving seat early.
Despite enduring the worst of the "road-cleaning" duties as championship leader on loose gravel, Evans consistently dragged his car into the top positions. A massive victory later in the season at Rally Japan kept his title ambitions firmly alive. Out of a gruelling 13-round season, Evans only finished outside the top six twice (Croatia and Kenya).
Evans had finished runner-up in 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025. To finally shake that weight off his shoulders is a monumental victory for British motorsport, making the upcoming return of the WRC to British soil for Rally Scotland in 2027 taste even sweeter.
Congratulations to Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. You kept believing, you kept working, and you earned every single bit of this world championship.
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