Toyota trio head to WRC finals

Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team will enter Rally Italia Sardegna with three of its drivers still in contention for the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship.

Elfyn Evans, Sami Pajari and Oliver Solberg will settle the drivers’ title when Sardinia hosts the final round of the season from 1 to 4 October.

The Italian rally became the championship decider after the FIA and WRC Promoter confirmed that Rally Saudi Arabia, which had been scheduled for November, was removed from the 2026 calendar.

Evans arrived in Sardinia with a 17-point advantage over Pajari and a 21-point lead over Solberg. A maximum of 35 points remains available, which means the championship will go to one of the three Toyota drivers.

The team has already secured the manufacturers’ championship. Toyota clinched its sixth straight title at the previous round in Chile. One of its crews will also take the drivers’ and co-drivers’ championships for the seventh time in eight seasons.

Evans and co-driver Scott Martin have led the championship since the Canary Islands round in April. The Welsh driver scored wins in Sweden and Japan and maintained his lead through much of the gravel-heavy part of the calendar.

Pajari has emerged as one of the season’s biggest challengers. The 24-year-old Finn and co-driver Marko Salminen recorded their first WRC wins in Estonia, Finland and Paraguay. The three consecutive victories put Pajari firmly into title contention.

Solberg also enters the finale with a chance at the championship. The Swedish driver opened his first full TGR-WRT season with a victory at Rallye Monte-Carlo. He and co-driver Elliott Edmondson added another win in Chile earlier this month.

Sébastien Ogier sits fourth and is no longer in contention for a record 10th championship. Sardinia will still give the Frenchman another WRC milestone. His 214th start will take him past team principal Jari-Matti Latvala for the record number of WRC appearances.

Ogier also has a strong record on the island. He won Rally Italia Sardegna for the fifth time in 2025 with co-driver Vincent Landais.

Takamoto Katsuta will return with regular co-driver Aaron Johnston, who missed the Chile round while he recovered from a collarbone injury. Katsuta scored his first two WRC victories this season in Kenya and Croatia and became the first Japanese driver to lead the championship standings.

The Sardinian round will also close the competitive life of Toyota’s GR Yaris Rally1 before new WRC technical regulations take effect in 2027. The car has collected 47 victories across five seasons.

This year’s Rally Italia Sardegna shifts from its usual June date to October and returns to Alghero on the island’s northwest coast.

Competition begins Thursday evening at the Ittiri rallycross circuit. Friday and Saturday feature repeated gravel stages northeast of Alghero, while Sunday brings two stages run twice.

The second pass through Sassari-Argentiera will serve as the season-ending Power Stage and decide which Toyota crew leaves Sardinia as the 2026 world champion.