Elfyn Evans has secured his first World Rally Championship (WRC) title, becoming the first British driver to win the premier motorsport crown in a quarter of a century. The dramatic conclusion came at the Rally Italia Sardegna, where Evans waited until the final moments of the season to learn his fate.
Entering the final day as the man to beat, Evans found himself on the back foot during the Friday sessions. He acknowledged that his team felt “powerless” given their road position, allowing title challenger Oliver Solberg to set a blistering pace. By Sunday afternoon, with Solberg needing only a solid finish to claim the championship, Evans prepared himself for another runners-up speech—his sixth in as many attempts.
However, the outcome changed in a matter of seconds. With just two turns remaining on the decisive final stage, Solberg lost control and careered off the track into the Sardinian sand. The error handed the world title to Evans, who crossed the line to a historic victory.
The 37-year-old from north Wales joins an elite group of British winners, matching the achievements of Colin McRae, who took the title in 1995, and Richard Burns, who won in 2001. Louise Aitken-Walker remains the only British woman to have won a world title, having claimed the now-defunct women’s WRC championship in 1990.
“It wouldn’t be my proudest way of winning it, but it’s job done,” Evans said. “It’s been a difficult weekend. I felt on Friday things were slipping away. We were a bit powerless with the road position we had and Oliver was flying.”
Does this count as a legitimate win if he was just waiting for his rival to make a mistake? Kind of anticlimactic, no?
I can’t believe Solberg crashed right before the finish. That has to be one of the most stressful moments in WRC history.
Finally! Britain needs another rally champion after such a long drought. Great to see Evans get the crown.