Solberg wins Rally Chile as late drama for Evans tightens WRC title race

Oliver Solberg (above) completed a near-perfect Rally Chile victory on Sunday to move squarely back into the FIA World Rally Championship drivers’ title conversation after his Toyota teammate, Elfyn Evans, suffered a final-leg puncture that dashed his hopes of increasing his points lead.

Toyota also secured its sixth consecutive WRC manufacturers’ title and a record-equaling 10th in total.

Solberg and co-driver Elliott Edmondson completed a composed three-day performance to beat nine-time and reigning WRC champ Sebastien Ogier by 16.6s in a Toyota 1-2, with Adrien Fourmaux taking the final podium slot for Hyundai 33.3s from the lead.

After winning the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally, Oliver Solberg had to wait 11 more rounds to celebrate a second 2026 WRC win. His Rally Chile victory puts him squarely in the title frame. Red Bull Content Pool

That 1-2 result capped a landmark weekend for Toyota. Having arrived in Chile requiring only seven points to make the manufacturers’ title mathematically secure, and with a maximum of 60 available from the second leg of the WRC’s South American doubleheader, the Japanese marque wrapped things up with two rounds still remaining.

The title puts Toyota on a six-season unbeaten run dating back to 2021. And with four other championships prior to that, it puts Toyota level with Lancia as the most successful manufacturer in WRC title history. Lancia’s double-digit title haul had stood since 1992, after which it ended its factory WRC program. Toyota’s first manufacturers’ crown came a year later in 1993, followed by titles in ’94 and ’99. After returning to the WRC’s top tier in 2017, it added a fourth in ’18, before beginning its current streak in ’21.

Solberg’s emphatic victory provided a fitting way for Toyota to secure its milestone. The 24-year-old Swede’s GR Yaris Rally1 took the lead on Friday’s opening stage and, aside from briefly surrendering it to Evans after the second stage, controlled the rally through constantly changing conditions, abrasive gravel roads and demanding tire management.

It was his Solberg’s third career WRC victory and second of 2026 following his season-opening Monte Carlo Rally win, adding to the breakthrough success he achieved on his Toyota Rally1 debut in Estonia last year.

He began Sunday 19.1s clear of Evans, but immediately came under renewed pressure when the championship leader won the opening 16.67-mile Carampangue 1 test, cutting the gap to 13.2s.

Solberg answered back on the first pass of 5.46-mile BioBio stage, setting fastest time despite sustaining right-rear tire damage and extending his advantage back to 14.5s

Then came the moment which dramatically altered both the rally and the fight for the WRC drivers’ title. Evans, running second and seemingly on course for another important podium, stopped to change a wheel on the second pass through Carampangue. More than two minutes disappeared as he and co-driver Scott Martin fitted a spare (see Sunday morning video highlights below), and the Welshman tumbled to fifth overall.

Ogier inherited second while Fourmaux’s Hyundai i20 N Rally1 moved into third, leaving Solberg with 13.3s in hand heading to the rally-ending, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage.

But there was no easing off by the winner-to-be, and Solberg went fastest again by 0.5s over Evans to seal the victory in style.

“It’s been an unbelievable weekend,” said Solberg. “It’s been up and down, but the team always supported, always pushed, always believed. Finally a little bit of luck was on my side, and I could just focus on my job and do my thing. The little details matter, and this weekend was a perfect, perfect weekend.”

Ogier’s runner-up finish brought another notable landmark. It was the Frenchman’s 120th WRC podium, drawing him level with fellow nine-time champion and countryman Sebastien Loeb.

Fourmaux secured his 13th career WRC podium after another strong drive for Hyundai, while Sami Pajari in another factory GR Yaris Rally1 inherited fourth following Evans’ delay. Pajari finished 1m33.9s behind Solberg after struggling to find the pace which had carried him to three consecutive victories in Estonia, Finland and Paraguay, but moves to just 17 points behind Evans in the overall standings. A maximum of 35 points are available from each of the two remaining rounds.

Sami Pajari couldn’t make it four consecutive WRC wins, but a fourth-place finish in Chile closed the gap to Toyota teammate and championship leader Elfyn Evans to just 17 points.

It could have been worse for Evans. He salvaged a fifth-place finish and responded to his late drama by going second fastest on the Wolf Power Stage, banking valuable bonus points after the disappointment of his puncture.

“Obviously, we tried to be as efficiently fast as we could,” he said. “Of course it was looking pretty positive this morning, but these things happen. We keep at it.”

Behind Evans and Pajari in the championship fight, Solberg’s victory has brought him to within 21 points of the lead, making it a real three-way fight for the season honors.

Next up, it’s Rally Italy Sardinia, Oct. 1-4, and Evans would need to finish it at least 36 points clear of his rivals to guarantee the title before the still-scheduled Saudi Arabia finale.

Behind the Rally1 battle in Chile, Yohan Rossel claimed WRC2 victory for Lancia. It was the Frenchman’s third victory of the year in the WRC’s second-tier category and his first on gravel after two all-asphalt wins in Croatia and the Canary Islands.

Having won every stage on Saturday’s second leg to build a lead of almost one minute in his Ypsilon HF, Rossel produced a measured drive through Sunday’s finale to deliver Lancia its first gravel victory since returning to the WRC this season.

Estonian Robert Virves finished second, moving closer to securing the 2026 WRC2 title. With little realistic hope of challenging for the lead and a buffer of more than half a minute over Gus Greensmith’s GR Yaris Rally2, the Skoda Fabia RS driver adopted a similar risk-free approach to Rossel.

Heading to Italy next month, only Teemu Suninen, who was absent from the WRC’s South American swing, can now deny Virves the title, albeit from 41 points back.

Yohan Rossel eased the pace a little in his Ypsilon HF on Sunday’s final leg to ensure his and Lancia’s first all-gravel WRC2 win of 2026. McKlein/Getty Images

WRC Rally Chile, final positions after Sunday/Leg Three, SS16
1 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h57m08.2s
2 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +16.6s
3 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +33.3s
4 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m33.9s
5 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m22.3s
6 Esapekka Lappi/Enni Malkonen (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +5m07.0s
7 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +7m31.5s
8 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Lancia Ypsilon HF – WRC2 winner) +9m31.0s
9 Robert Virves/Jakko Viilo (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +10m24.0s
10 Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2) +10m58.2s

WRC Drivers’ Championship after 12 of 14 rounds
1 Evans 230 points
2 Pajari 213
3 Solberg 209
4 Ogier 171
5 Fourmaux 167
6 Takamoto Katsuta 163   

WRC Manufacturers’ Championship after 12 of 14 rounds
1 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 614 points (2026 champions)   
2 Hyundai Word Rally Team 410 
3 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 227
4  M-Sport Ford 152 

• Catch WRC action from all rounds of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship on RACER Network and the RACER+ App. Tune in on Monday, Sept. 14 at 9.00pm ET for full highlights from Rally Chile.  

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