- Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson lead an all-Toyota podium with victory in the No. 99 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1
- Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais finish second, with Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen completing the podium in third
- Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin secure their first FIA World Rally Championship drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles
- GR-WRT concludes the 2026 season with 12 victories from 13 rallies and all three championship titles
Dubai, UAE – 07 October 2026: TOYOTA Gazoo Racing World Rally Team (GR-WRT) concluded a remarkable 2026 FIA World Rally Championship season with a one-two-three finish at Rally Italia Sardegna, as Oliver Solberg and co-driver Elliott Edmondson claimed victory in the No. 99 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1. Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais followed in second place in the No. 1 car, while Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen completed the podium in third in the No. 5 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1.
The dramatic season finale also saw Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin secure their first FIA World Rally Championship drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles following an intense battle that went down to the final Power Stage. With GR-WRT having already secured the manufacturers’ championship at the previous round in Chile, the result completes a sweep of all three WRC titles for the team in 2026.
Akio Toyoda, GR-WRT Chairman, commented: “Since joining the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing family in 2020, Elfyn has finished just one place short of the championship five times. After so many seasons of coming painfully close, he has finally achieved the title he has worked so hard for. Congratulations, Elfyn. You really deserve it. Oliver and Elliott also fought incredibly hard right to the very end. Let’s keep pushing together next year!
This rally marks the end of the GR YARIS Rally1’s journey. It is a car that has continued to win championships throughout the five seasons since 2022. This year, it became a car that any one of our five drivers could win with. I would like to sincerely thank everyone in the team for pursuing an ever-better, driver-first car.”
Toyoda added: “I am sure the team is already hard at work preparing the next generation of cars. There will be many new challenges ahead. Things may not go perfectly from the start, and that’s okay. Let’s enjoy taking on a new challenge of making ever-better cars together once again. To Jari-Matti, Juha, everyone in the team, our partners, and all our fans: thank you very much for your support throughout this season.”
Rally Italia Sardegna hosted the final round of the season for the first time, with the island’s sandy and rough gravel roads once again providing a demanding challenge. The loose surface created a significant road-cleaning effect, particularly for championship contenders Evans, Pajari, and Solberg, who began the rally separated by just 21 points.
Solberg and Edmondson started strong, taking the initial lead in Thursday’s opening super special before ending Friday in third overall. They then delivered an impressive performance on Saturday, taking two stage wins during the morning to move into the rally lead and finishing the day 33.6 seconds clear of Ogier and Landais.
Pajari and Salminen also moved into podium contention as the rally progressed, ending Saturday third overall and keeping themselves firmly involved in the championship battle heading into the decisive final day.
With Solberg leading the rally and Evans holding a reduced advantage in the virtual championship standings, the title fight came down to Sunday’s bonus points. Solberg strengthened his position with a stage win on the opening Osilo – Tergu test, while a puncture for Evans during the second pass of the stage left the Welsh driver heading into the season-ending Power Stage with a virtual championship lead of just one point.
The final stage therefore became a direct contest for the world title. Solberg was ahead of Evans on the split times during an all-out run but went off the road in the closing section. He recovered to complete the stage and secure the rally victory, while Evans’ faster Power Stage time was enough to seal the championship.
The title represents a hard-earned reward for Evans and Martin after seven seasons consistently fighting at the front with GR-WRT. Their 2026 campaign combined victories in Sweden and Japan with strong consistency throughout the year, allowing them to finish the season on 243 points, five ahead of Solberg and six clear of Pajari.
Solberg and Edmondson’s Sardinia victory completed an outstanding first full season at the highest level. Following wins at Rallye Monte-Carlo and Chile, the pair ended the year with back-to-back victories and second place in the championship on 238 points.
Ogier and Landais secured second place in Sardinia, 57.6 seconds behind the winners. The result marked Ogier’s record 121st WRC podium and came on his record 214th WRC start, further adding to the nine-time world champion’s remarkable career achievements.
Pajari and Salminen completed the all-Toyota podium in third, 1 minute and 37.4 seconds behind the winners. Their ninth podium of the season was more than any other crew achieved in 2026 and helped them finish third in the championship on 237 points following a breakthrough campaign that also included three victories.
The result gave the Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 its 12th victory from 13 rallies during the 2026 season, equalling the record for wins in a single campaign. It also marked the car’s record-extending 48th WRC victory overall as it completed its fifth and final season under the current homologation cycle ahead of new technical regulations for 2027.
GR-WRT concludes the season with 662 points, clinching its sixth successive manufacturers’ championship title. The team has now produced the drivers’ and co-drivers’ world champions in seven of the past eight seasons and has completed a sweep of the drivers’, co-drivers’, and manufacturers’ championships five times in the past six years.
Toyota’s motorsports history dates back over 60 years. Reflecting the concept that ‘the roads build the people, and the people build the cars,’ Toyota has competed in a wide range of motorsport disciplines worldwide. Its major successes, achieved under the most extreme conditions, together with the hard-won knowledge and technical insights they have yielded, continue to serve as the foundation for building ‘ever-better’ cars.
Race Notes:
- No. 99 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 (Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson)
- Position: 1st
- Time: 3 hours, 24 minutes, and 57.0 seconds
- No. 1 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 (Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais)
- Position: 2nd
- Time: 3 hours, 25 minutes, and 54.6 seconds (+57.6s)
- No. 5 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 (Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen)
- Position: 3rd
- Time: 3 hours, 26 minutes, and 34.4 seconds (+1m37.4s)