New WRC champion Evans relieved after “surreal” Sardinia title showdown

A relieved Elfyn Evans feels years of hard work have finally paid off after becoming Britain’s first World Rally Champion for 25 years following a “surreal” final stage showdown at Rally Sardinia.

The longtime championship leader could see the title slipping away after feeling powerless at times, having started from first on the road on Friday. A penultimate stage puncture on Sunday then swung the title fight further in the direction of Oliver Solberg, who began the weekend 21 points adrift.

Knowing he had to beat Solberg in a final stage decider to stand any chance of claiming the crown, Evans was convinced his effort was not enough. However, seemingly with one hand on the title Solberg went off the road two corners from the finish, handing the title to Evans in the most dramatic of circumstances.

After finishing runner-up on five occasions (2020-21, 2023-25), Evans says he has experienced a mixture of emotions after realising he had become Wales’ first WRC champion and Britain’s first world rally champion since Richard Burns in 2001.

“It is a bit of relief, bit of happiness, bit of joy,” Evans told Autosport.com.

“It's a bit of a surreal afternoon. A lot of ups and downs. I was quite sure it wasn't going to happen with my run in the Power Stage, but it just shows anything can happen in this sport.

“I’m typically self critical and I’m not that proud of my last event of the season, but it was a season’s work. In a way I think we were pretty unlucky with what happened in Chile [with the penultimate stage puncture] and again here we went through one corner and I killed the speed and still we got a puncture.

Elfyn Evans of Great Britain and Scott Martin of Great Britain compete with their Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 during Rally Italia Sardegna, Round 13 of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship on October 03, 2026 in Alghero, Italy.

Photo by: Massimo Bettiol / Getty Images

“Of course I put a lot of work into this game and maybe my talent alone is maybe not as high as some of the other guys that sit alongside me. I do bring quite a bit of effort as everybody does. I try to give everything and finally it has paid off with a championship.”

Evans’ navigator Scott Martin, who is now England’s first WRC co-drivers’ champion, added: “It has been a long time coming. When we were watching Oliver [Solberg] and Elliott [Edmondson] put together a very strong final stage I was starting to think that it would slip away again.

“After the drama that unfolded my heart goes out to them two and you never want to see that. It hasn’t sunk in. I’m in a bit of daze at the moment.”

How the Service Park reacted to Evans' title

Sami Pajari, Marko Salminen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Nine-time world champion Sébastien Ogier, who defeated Evans to claim world titles in 2020, 2021 and 2025, believes there is nobody more deserving of the crown than his Toyota team-mate.

“Again, for me, he's the deserved champion for this season. He has had a tough job all year and I think no one deserved more than him after many, many years of hard work,” Ogier told Autosport.com.

The feeling was mirrored by 2024 world champion Thierry Neuville, who added: “I really thought Elfyn really deserved it, and in the end, everything came good for him. But I also want to say hats off to Oliver who absolutely smashed it all weekend. He just went for it with one single target of winning the championship. Hats off because he has absolutely delivered this weekend.

“But there can be only one winner, and I think most of us agree that Elfyn is the real winner this year.

“He's been there for many, many years, and he has been very close many times. He's still putting all these efforts into it after so many seasons, and losing it obviously twice, also in very dramatic circumstances. So I think that nobody can say that he doesn't deserve it.”