Oliver Solberg and co-driver Elliott Edmondson won Rally Italia Sardegna, the 2026 World Rally Championship finale based in Alghero, Sardinia. They finished 57.6 seconds clear in their No. 99 Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. But Solberg slid off the road a few corners from the end of the final Wolf Power Stage, and the time he lost gave the drivers’ title to Toyota teammates Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin, who finished fifth (FIA final official classification; WRC.com).
How it was won
Evans arrived 21 points ahead of Solberg and 17 ahead of Sami Pajari. Running first on the road on Sardinia’s gravel, though, he was sweeping loose stones for the cars behind and was only fifth overall on Saturday night (Motorsport.com). Hyundai led after Friday, with Thierry Neuville 0.4 seconds ahead of Adrien Fourmaux. Fourmaux then had two punctures on Saturday, and Neuville lost the lead to a charging Solberg before crashing on Stage 11. Neuville was eventually classified 15th.
On Sunday, Solberg topped the Super Sunday classification, and Evans had a front-right puncture on the penultimate stage, Osilo – Tergu, and stopped to change the wheel (WRC.com). That made the 7.10 km Sassari – Argentiera Wolf Power Stage a straight fight for the title. Evans ran first. Solberg was 1.9 seconds up on his time with little more than a kilometre left, then slid wide into the sand a handful of corners from the finish. He recovered to finish the stage and win the rally, but the lost time settled the championship in Evans’ favour.
Evans said it had not sunk in and that he had been “quite sure that it was over,” and he said he felt sorry for Solberg after such a strong weekend (WRC.com).
Results snapshot
| Pos | Crew | Car | Time / Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oliver Solberg / Elliott Edmondson | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 3:24:57.0 |
| 2 | Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +57.6s |
| 3 | Sami Pajari / Marko Salminen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +1:37.4 |
| 4 | Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +2:38.6 |
| 5 | Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +4:48.1 |
| 6 | Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +6:02.4 |
| 7 | Jon Armstrong / Shane Byrne | Ford Puma Rally1 | +7:32.2 |
| 8 | Roope Korhonen / Anssi Viinikka | Toyota GR Yaris (WRC2) | +12:10.4 |
| 9 | Robert Virves / Jakko Viilo | Škoda Fabia RS (WRC2) | +12:11.1 |
| 10 | Gus Greensmith / Jonas Andersson | Toyota GR Yaris (WRC2) | +13:02.2 |
Rally facts (FIA): 17 special stages on gravel from Thursday, October 1, to Sunday, October 4. Toyota swept the podium, and Korhonen and Viinikka were the top WRC2 crew in eighth overall (FIA final official classification).
History & significance
Evans and Martin clinched their first world title after five runner-up finishes in the championship, and Evans became the first British driver to win it since Richard Burns in 2001 (WRC.com). Sardinia became the finale after the FIA and WRC Promoter confirmed in September that Rally Saudi Arabia would not run as a WRC round, leaving a 13-round season (WRC.com). It was Solberg’s third win of 2026 (Motorsport.com). Nine-time champion Sébastien Ogier, who won in Italy in 2025 on his way to his ninth title, finished second.
What’s next
The 2026 World Rally Championship is complete. The 2027 calendar has not been confirmed in the sources used here. For series news and the next season schedule, see WRC.com.