This championship is quite remarkable really as the action moves from the wilds of east Africa and Kenya to the tarmac of Europe in Croatia as the championship returns for the first time since 2024. Last time out we witnessed a new crew taking their first championship victory as Takamoto and Aaron took a fantastic and utterly deserved win. Both championship leaders Elfyn and Scott, Oliver and Elliott didn’t score that highly after having to retire towards the end of Saturday’s stages. This means that Elfyn and Scott remain in the championship lead by eight points over Oliver and Elliott. Interestingly with Takamoto and Aaron winning in Kenya they’ve brought themselves into the championship fight as they are only eleven points from their teammates.

 

Now we cannot talk about this round of the championship without talking about Craig Breen who died whilst testing for the Hyundai team in 2023 ahead of this round. They’ve announced a special livery for this round. Here’s some photographs released by the team of the car.

Now let’s hear from the drivers and take a look at the stages.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“Croatia has been a good rally for us in the past so it’s nice to be going back there. It’s always been a rally with a lot of surface changes and with that a lot of grip changes, but there are more unknowns this year with the event moving towards the coast. We will have to see what the new stages are like when we get there and write plenty of new pacenotes during the recce. In our test we had quite wet and muddy conditions, which could be representative of what we’ll face in the rally, but we were also having to think ahead towards the Canaries with some parts linked between the two rallies. Like always, we aim to fight for the best result possible.”

Oliver Solberg

“It will be nice to be back on asphalt for the next events. We had some good feelings in the car already on asphalt at Rallye Monte-Carlo and even though the conditions there were very specific, it does give confidence that we can be competitive on every surface. I’ve done Croatia a couple of times previously and it’s certainly a tricky rally: quite dirty and slippery with a lot of cutting. It’s kind of like a mild Monte-Carlo. This time we’re in a new part of the country with new stages so it could be quite different to previous years, but still a big challenge no doubt. It’s been a strong start to the year so far and I would be happy to keep that going and keep learning.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Kenya was a very special moment in my career. It’s been a busy few weeks since, including a trip back to Japan and some testing, but I’m feeling good, relaxed and fully focused for the next events. We have two asphalt rallies coming up back-to-back, as well as Rally Japan, which will be another important rally for me and the team. It gives us a good opportunity to try things and find the best feeling on this surface, even though each rally is quite different. Croatia is one of the trickiest asphalt events because even in the dry the grip changes a lot, and in my test we had a lot of rain and even some snow! With many new stages too, we have to be ready for surprises.”

Sami Pajari

“It’s cool to be back on asphalt and back in Croatia after this rally wasn’t on the calendar last year. It’s nice to have such different rallies in this first part of the season, going from Sweden to Kenya and now another completely different rally again. My feeling so far with this car on asphalt has been good – it was on this surface that we took our first podium in Japan at the end of last year – so I’m looking forward. In our test we had dry conditions and quite fast and flowing roads, but we know the rally can be quite different. Normally it’s quite tricky and muddy with a lot of cuts, so it’s not going to be an easy one, but my feeling is good.”

Yuki Yamamoto (Driver WRC Challenge Program GEN2)

“My recovery has gone well and I’m really looking forward to being back in a rally car in Croatia. It’s a very tricky rally with the cuts and dirt and unpredictable weather. I’ve done it twice before including last year in the European championship, and although this year’s route is quite different, we still have some knowledge about what kind of driving and car setup is required there. We’ve done some good analysis since Rallye Monte-Carlo about where we can improve with the pacenotes and more, so I feel ready and excited. Again, we’re not scoring WRC2 points, but if we can put everything together, I’m sure we can have good pace and a good result.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Adrien Fourmaux

“Croatia Rally is one of the most difficult tarmac rallies, because you have many different profiles – sometimes five or six different types in one section – so you are unsure how much grip you will have going into it. The stages vary greatly depending on what area of the country we are in. Some stages are in the mountains, while others are by a beautiful sea. I personally prefer when we have new stages in the rally – discovering each one adds a challenge, and it’s important to have good pace notes so you have confidence in your car.

Thierry Neuville

“We’ve struggled a bit on tarmac recently, so Croatia Rally will be a challenging round for us. It’s one of the toughest tarmac events in the world, but I’m really looking forward to the new stages; the location has changed this year, and it seems like the roads are quite different from what we’ve faced before. New tarmac roads are always an extra element for us to learn, especially with changing weather conditions, but generally I enjoy new stages and the challenges they bring. Generally, the grip is low and there’s a lot of cutting, so you always need to manage your speed to ensure you make your corner if the conditions are worse than expected.”

Hayden Paddon

“I’m really looking forward to being back in the car in Croatia. We’ve done a small amount of testing, but combined with the mileage from Monte-Carlo, we’re starting to feel more confident in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1. This will be our first-time entering Croatia Rally, but the stages look great; it’s a more traditional tarmac rally, and it looks like a big challenge with a lot of cutting and pollution. Things will be harder for us on day one because of our road position, but we have targets for the rally that we will stay focussed on. We certainly feel that we can up our game and be competitive, but also enjoy the rally and the opportunity to drive an amazing car with a great team.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

FORD PUMA RALLY1

Josh McErlean

“Croatia is another important rally for me to keep improving on tarmac and focus on myself, the feeling and my driving. The stages look really cool this year with a lot of new ones, so it should be a good challenge. The goal is a clean, consistent weekend and to keep progressing.”

Jon Armstrong

“Croatia Rally is a special event for me – I took my first Junior WRC victory there in 2021 and went on to win overall in the ERC in 2025, so it holds a lot of great memories. This year’s stages are closer to the coast, bringing a fresh challenge with a faster, more circuit-like flow. After a strong pre-event test, I’m excited to see what kind of pace we can deliver.”

FORD FIESTA RALLY2

Romet Jürgenson

“I’ve always liked Croatia, it’s one of those events where you really need to focus 100% to deal with the difficult conditions. Starting with the pollution on the roads and the road characteristics like the bumps, crests and even chumps. Which is unusual on a tarmac rally. Always enjoy the challenge and I am excited to see what the rally brings!”

Mille Johansson

“Rally Croatia is a real challenge with its changing grip. It’s a demanding event where precision is key. The goal is to stay consistent, build confidence, and make the most of every stage. We know the competition will be tough, but we’re here to fight for a strong result and keep improving stage by stage.”

 

The Stages

This year’s edition sees the crews tackle 300 kilometres over twenty stages. Friday is the longest day with almost 130 kilometres over eight stages, then Saturday has almost 116 kilometres also over eight stages, whilst Sunday has just under 60 kilometres over four stages.

Anyone from the top teams could take victory and road position could be really crucial to the pace which the crews can take into the stages. Elfyn and Scott who lead the championship standings and have taken victory in the 2023 edition of this rally will likely have the best opportunity to take victory this weekend, but they will have a big challenge from Oliver and Elliott who are going to be fast as well. The Hyundai team have Adrien and Alex who are the crew most likely to be able to fight at the front with the Toyota crews as Thierry and Martijn seem to have lost some of their pace since their championship title. Meanwhile the crews at M-Sport will continue to build their knowledge for the future.

 

The action starts on Thursday morning with shakedown before the first stage on Friday morning.