That is what three years of relentless fighting gets you. Türkkan arrived at the five-round season finale in South America sitting three points behind the championship leader, but he leaves with 120 points and the biggest prize of his career: four fully funded WRC2 rounds, complete with testing, in an M-Sport-run Ford Fiesta Rally2 in 2027. It is the sweet reward for the Castrol Ford Team Türkiye driver, who had previously finished third in the championship in both 2024 and 2025 before finally reaching the summit at his third attempt.
“It is fantastic,” Türkkan said at the finish. “It took three years to make this. A lot of sacrifice and pain but we never gave up. Now we finally did it. I don’t know what to say. Big thanks to Castrol and Ford for the support and my family.”
When the crews rolled into Concepción, the title fight was delicately poised. Calle Carlberg led Türkkan 95 points to 92, with Gil Membrado, Lassila, and Kerem Kazaz all keeping mathematical hopes alive at a finale offering double classification points and one bonus point for every stage victory. Carlberg initially strengthened his grip by claiming two stage wins on Friday and another on Saturday morning. Then the whole complexion of the championship changed dramatically when the Swede rolled heavily on SS11.
By that point, Türkkan had already seized the initiative. Four stage victories across Saturday brought crucial bonus points and pushed him into the rally lead overnight, 21.9 seconds ahead of Lassila. With his primary championship rival sidelined, Sunday turned into a tactical exercise of balancing the pursuit of the rally win against the massive title prize waiting at the end.
Lassila made sure that decision was straightforward. The Finn took more than 56 seconds out of Türkkan on Sunday’s opening 26.82km Carampangue test to sweep into the lead, then controlled the remaining three stages to secure his maiden Junior WRC victory by 1 minute 20.3 seconds. It was a stunning recovery from Lassila, who had survived a roll on Saturday morning’s first pass through María las Cruces with little more than bodywork damage. That victory, combined with the two stage points he scored on Friday, lifted him from fourth to second in the final championship standings on 107 points.
Behind them, Craig Rahill completed the Rally Chile podium, finishing 3 minutes 58.3 seconds behind Lassila, while Membrado salvaged fourth after a weekend of contrasting fortunes. The Spaniard had rolled on Saturday’s opening stage and lost more than four minutes with intercooler damage, but he underlined his raw speed by completing a clean sweep of all four Sunday stages. Those four bonus points, added to his Friday stage win, helped him finish fourth in the championship on 88 points. Carlberg’s three Chile stage points were enough for the Swede to retain third in the final standings on 98 despite his retirement, while Rahill climbed to fifth with 58.
