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Evans ends Britain's 25-year wait for WRC champion - Published Elfyn Evans became Britain's first world rally champion for 25 years after rival Oliver Solberg crashed in a highly dramatic finish to the season in Italy. Sweden's Solberg was on course to snatch the lead on the final stage of the last round of the World Rally Championship, and thereby deny Evans the title. But Solberg lost control of his car with a few hundred metres to go in the Rally Italia Sardegna, which meant the glory went to Welshman Evans, a five-time runner-up in the championship. "It hasn't sunk in," said a shocked Evans. "I was sure it was over. I feel for Oliver - he had an incredible weekend. I don't know what to say." The 37-year-old and co-driver Scott Martin had led for much of the 2026 season and took a 21-point advantage into the final round in Sardinia. But that gap had shrunk to a solitary point by the time the drivers lined up for the last of 17 stages, bringing back painful memories of previous narrow misses for Evans. Solberg, 25, needed only to beat his Toyota team-mate in the final stage to claim enough bonuses to be champion, but he crashed two corners from the finish. Evans becomes only the third British man to win the WRC title after Colin McRae in 1995 and Richard Burns in 2001. Solberg, whose father Petter won the WRC title in 2003, won the rally by almost a minute ahead of nine-time world champion Sebastien Ogier. With barely a kilometre to run of the final stage he and English co-driver Elliott Edmondson were 1.9 seconds up on Evans and closing at speed on the championship. Though Solberg got back on the road, his crash meant he finished nine seconds slower than his team-mate - and five points behind Evans in the overall standings. A third Toyota driver, Sami Pajari, finished a further one point behind in third - having seen his own title challenge evaporate on the final weekend. An inconsolable Solberg remained in his car for some time at the end of the stage before being encouraged to take to the podium by Gazoo Racing team principal Jari-Matti Latvala and team-mate Ogier. "Two corners, two corners," said an emotional Solberg. "First congratulations to Elfyn, he has been very consistent all season. That I even had a shot after my rollercoaster of a season is incredible. "I tried everything. I knew I was pushing but didn't know if it was enough. I pushed even more and I couldn't save the car. I tried my very best." Evans, from Dolgellau in north Wales, had previously missed out on the title on the final day three times and in two of those seasons he had taken a lead into the concluding rally before losing out to Ogier in 2020 and 2025. "I don't really know what my reaction is. It's surreal with how it happened. It's a relief," he said. "It wouldn't by my proudest way of winning it, but it's job done." For Toyota sporting director Kaj Lindstrom there were mixed feelings. "That was the hardest thing. The ending was quite something, I didn't expect it," said the Finn. "It was a good fight and we all saw that Oliver was all or nothing. It held all the way to the end. "Oliver still has time but Elfyn finally got his title so we're really happy for him." The WRC season was reduced to 13 rounds when the Saudi Arabia event, originally planned for next month, was cancelled because of the ongoing unrest in the Middle East. Rally Italia Sardegna marked the end of Jon Armstrong's rookie season at the top level of WRC, and he produced his best result when finishing seventh. "It's been good to have a clean weekend with a strong result," said the M-Sport Ford driver. "It's not been an easy year and this was a rally to show we can put it together. A big thanks to everyone who has been supporting us, it's been a great year and it's been a privilege to drive this car." Armstrong's team-mate and fellow Irishman Josh McErlean did not fare as well despite running as high as sixth on Saturday before retiring after a collision with a tree. He also had to stop twice on Sunday before finishing well off the pace but claimed ninth spot in the championship. Rally Italia Sardegna result 1. Oliver Solberg (Sweden), Toyota 3 hours 24 minutes 57.0 seconds 2. Sebastien Ogier (France), Toyota, +57.6 secs 3. Sami Pajari (Finland), Toyota, +1min 37.4 secs 4. Adrien Formaux (France), Hyundai, +2min 38.6 secs 5. Elfyn Evans (Great Britain), Toyota, +4min 48.1 secs 6. Takamoto Katsuta (Japan), Toyota, +6min 02.4 secs 7. Jon Armstrong (Ireland), Ford, +7min 32.2 secs Selected 10. Gus Greensmith (Great Britain), Toyota, +13 mins 02.2 secs 22. Josh McErlean (Ireland), Ford, +47min 28.5 secs FIA World Rally Championship drivers' standings 1. Elfyn Evans (Great Britain), Toyota, 243 points 2. Oliver Solberg (Sweden), Toyota, 238 3. Sami Pajari (Finland), Toyota, 237 4. Sebastien Ogier (France), Toyota, 189 5. Adrien Formaux (France), Hyundai, 183 6. Takamoto Katsuta (Japan), Toyota, 175 7. Thierry Neuville (Belgium), Hyundai, 134 Selected 9. Josh McErlean (Ireland), Ford, 35 12. Jon Armstrong (Ireland), Ford, 22 15. Gus Greensmith (Great Britain), Toyota, 14
document fetched 2026-10-05 02:56 · canonical https://bbc.co.uk/sport/motorsport/articles/cmd6dq5gyw7xo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss