That is how you finally take the crown after years of heartbreaking near-misses. Elfyn Evans and his co-driver Scott Martin are finally world champions, surviving a proper thriller in Sardinia that came down to the absolute final stretch of the weekend.
The championship fight came down to a straight duel on the final Wolf Power Stage. That knife-edge scenario arrived courtesy of the preceding Osilo – Tergu test, where Evans suffered a front-right puncture and had to stop to change the wheel. It was a brutal replay of history for the Welshman, marking his second costly penultimate-stage puncture in as many rallies following a similar setback in Chile. With Super Sunday points gone, Evans and Oliver Solberg arrived at the 7.10km Sassari – Argentiera finale separated by the smallest of margins in the title race.
They have come close before, but they kept working, kept believing and kept delivering when the pressure was highest. Becoming WRC champions today is a hugely deserved reward for that perseverance.
Evans completed his run first. Solberg then attacked and was 1.9sec ahead of the Welshman’s time with little more than one kilometre remaining. But just a handful of corners from the finish, the Swede slid wide and went off into the sand. He recovered and completed the stage, but the time lost was enough to confirm Evans and Martin as world champions.
"I don't think it's quite sunk in yet," admitted Evans, who confessed he feared the title was gone before that late drama. "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 as well - he did an incredible weekend, and I'm sorry for him to lose it so close to the finish there. Obviously, I have a lot of people to thank for backing me for all the years, and to Scotty, obviously, for an incredible job."
This stunning success finally breaks the curse for Evans, who had finished championship runner-up five times and twice previously arrived at the season finale leading the standings. His 2026 campaign demanded immense resilience. Evans led the championship for much of the year, but his advantage eroded during the second half of the season. Road-cleaning duties left him on the back foot through much of the finale, yet he and Martin kept themselves in contention until the title finally swung their way.
With the triumph, Evans becomes the first British driver to win the WRC title since Richard Burns in 2001.
Meanwhile, Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson won the rally itself following a superb weekend in their GR Yaris Rally1, finishing 57.6sec ahead of Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais. Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen completed an all-Toyota podium, with Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria taking fourth ahead of Evans and Martin, while Takamoto Katsuta and Jon Armstrong rounded out the leading Rally1 finishers.
WRC Promoter CEO Éric Boullier praised the newly crowned champions. "Elfyn and Scott have shown incredible resilience throughout this championship," he said. "They have come close before, but they kept working, kept believing and kept delivering when the pressure was highest. Becoming WRC champions today is a hugely deserved reward for that perseverance."
WRC Promoter Chief Operating Officer Julien Vial added: "This is a wonderful moment for Elfyn, Scott and everyone who has supported them on this journey. Their story is a reminder that you have to keep daring to dream, even after disappointment. To finally reach this moment makes the achievement even more special."
As always, results remain subject to FIA confirmation.
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