Elfyn Evans has secured his first FIA World Rally Championship title after a final stage incident ended Toyota team mate Oliver Solberg’s championship challenge at Rally Italia Sardegna.

Evans and co-driver Scott Martin finished the season on 243 points, five ahead of Solberg and six clear of Sami Pajari.

After five runner-up finishes in six seasons, Evans becomes the first Welsh world rally champion and Britain’s first since Richard Burns in 2001.

A championship decided on the final stage

Evans arrived in Sardinia with a 21-point advantage over Solberg and a 17-point lead over Pajari. With 35 points available, all three Toyota drivers had a chance to claim their first world title.

Solberg’s pace brought him back into contention. Leading the rally into Sunday, the Swedish driver reduced the deficit and took the championship fight to the closing kilometres of the Power Stage.

Evans’ own challenge suffered a setback on the penultimate stage when he stopped to replace a punctured front-right tyre. The delay dropped him outside the Sunday points, leaving the title dependent on the final stage.

Solberg was ahead of the time he needed when he slid off the road near the finish.

He recovered to complete the stage and retain the rally victory, though the lost bonus points handed Evans the championship.

Consistency rewarded after years of near misses

For Evans, the result ends a succession of title challenges that finished one position short.

His fifth place in Sardinia proved enough to secure the championship, despite collecting no Sunday bonus points.

The Welshman joins Colin McRae and Richard Burns among Britain’s world rally champions.

Martin shares the achievement after a season in which the Toyota pairing’s consistent results established the advantage they carried into the finale.

Solberg finishes with a win and second in the championship

Solberg leaves Sardinia with his third victory of the season and second place in the drivers’ standings.

Alongside co-driver Elliott Edmondson, the 25-year-old won in Monte Carlo, Chile and Sardinia during his first full Rally1 campaign with Toyota.

His late-season results turned a substantial points deficit into a title challenge that lasted until the final stage.

The outcome was a disappointment for Solberg, though a rally victory and championship runner-up finish provide clear evidence of his progress since winning the 2025 WRC2 title.