This is it then. Three crews from Toyota come to this final round with the chance to become the 2026 World Rally Champions. Elfyn and Scott have been brilliant again this year and come to this final round with a seventeen-point lead over second placed Sami and Marko. Oliver and Elliott are further four points back, twenty-one points from the leaders.

 

In regard to the possible points permutations as to how any of the crews could win the title, let’s just see how that each day of competition progresses.

 

The weather will be interesting to keep an eye on as well, as if there is any rain either overnight before Friday’s stages or during the day this will certainly benefit Elfyn and Scott’s pace.

 

Let’s take a look at the stages then which will be the challenge for the championship contenders, and they will hope that they can navigate them to deliver the crown.

Shakedown takes place on Thursday morning, before the first stage taking place in the afternoon. Friday then sees them tackle 121 kilometres over six stages for stages two to seven. Saturday has the longest day with 123 kilometres over stages eight to thirteen. Then Sunday has 61 kilometres over stages fourteen to seventeen.

 

Let’s hear from the drivers then.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans

“Our approach for Sardinia doesn’t change just because it’s the last rally of the season: we have to go there and have the best rally that we can. We’ve worked hard to put ourselves in this position, holding on to the lead through a difficult run of gravel rallies. Sami and Oliver have been driving well, and with so many points still available, especially on Sunday, we know things will most likely remain open until the end. We just need to drive it like a normal rally and focus on doing the best job we can. Sardinia is usually not an easy rally to open the road on, and although we might be more likely to see some rain at this time of year, which could help reduce the cleaning effect for us, we have to prepare for a demanding event like usual.”

Sami Pajari

“It’s really nice to be in the fight for the championship with only one rally to go, and I’m looking forward to it. I just need to do the best that I can, like in every single rally, so nothing really changes on my side. The gaps closed up between the top three in Chile, but Elfyn still has the advantage in the points; anything is still possible, and we’ll focus on doing what we can. Sardinia is a rally that I normally like a lot. The stages are quite twisty and most of them are pretty narrow, but I’ve been able to do quite well there in the past. Now we’re going at a different time of year, but I don’t expect it to affect the nature of the rally too much, even if the temperatures may not be quite as high as usual.”

Oliver Solberg

“The championship has looked like a long shot for us at times this year, but we never gave up. It was great to get back into the fight with our result in Chile and go into this last rally with a shot at the title. It’s a big gap to Elfyn to try to close in one rally, but we will give it everything of course, and in a rally like Sardinia, anything can still happen. The stages are challenging, with fast sections where you need good commitment, as well as more technical parts where you have to be more patient. I don’t have so much experience there, especially in the top category, but we had a good run to win the Rally2 class last year and we just have to aim for the top step once more and see what happens.”

Sébastien Ogier

“Sardinia is a rally that I have always enjoyed going to during my career. While the island itself is beautiful, the rally is really demanding and it took me a few years to master it, but it was very satisfying to win there again last year after a close fight right until the end. I also remember driving there in October a couple of times before, and it can still be really challenging at this time of year, especially with weather that can change very quickly when you’re on an island. Now that the team has secured another manufacturers’ title, and that we officially no longer have a chance in the drivers’ championship, our target will be to enjoy driving this great car one last time and, of course, try to achieve one more victory to end the season.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“I’m looking forward to Sardinia. The rally is really demanding but it’s one that I always enjoy going to with a nice atmosphere around it, and it will be interesting to drive there this time as the final round of the season. We’ve had some really good moments this year, as well as some tougher ones more recently, but the team is really supporting me a lot and now I’m just focused on coming back stronger and having a positive end to the season – and enjoying the last event with this Rally1 car. Our road position, being sixth on the road, should be better for us – if it doesn’t rain – and hopefully it can be a good opportunity for us.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Adrien Fourmaux

“Sardinia is an event where I have always been fast, but for different reasons I’ve never managed to come away with the result I felt was possible, so the plan is to change that this year. Having the rally in October can be a little different. There is probably a greater chance of rain, although we have also seen rain in Sardinia in June, so the weather can always play a role. If it stays dry, I expect the conditions to be quite similar to what we know: it’s a very demanding rally for both the cars and the crews, and you need to manage everything well throughout the weekend. It will also be a special event as the final round of the championship and the last rally for this great generation of Rally1 cars. We want to finish the season in the strongest possible way and fight for a good result.”

Thierry Neuville

“Rally Italia Sardegna is the final round of the Rally1 era, and our target is clear – to fight for victory. This is an event we have won in the past, so hopefully we  have found what we need to feel confident and be fast during our pre-event test. The biggest challenge here is the nature of the stages, which are technical, demanding, and leave no room for mistakes. Tyre management will also be crucial, although the weather will be much cooler than usual. In general, I think the last 10 years have been the most competitive cars ever in WRC; they have been super-fast and spectacular, and I’ve enjoyed the different challenges of both the WRC and the Rally1 cars. It would be great to close out this era with a win.”

Dani Sordo

“I’m really motivated for Rally Italia Sardegna. The biggest challenge is the narrow roads and the stones by the side of the road. In Sardinia, you need to be precise and fast, and if you make a small mistake, there’s always a stone waiting for you. This weekend, I will have Patricia in the co-driver seat. We have already done some rallies together, and I think we can do very well next weekend. She is so clear in the pace notes, which really helps me focus. The only target we have is to be on the podium at least, but we would love to win. It’s a rally I like – the roads are quite technical, and I perform well there – Sardinia gives me a special energy, and so I hope it will be the same again this year.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Josh McErlean

“Sardinia is always a really demanding rally, with technical stages and conditions that can be tough on both the car and crew. It’s going to be a special weekend with it being our final event in the Rally1 cars, so we really want to make the most of it. We’ve had some solid results recently and I want to carry that momentum into Sardinia, push hard and finish this chapter on a high.”

Jon Armstrong

“I’m really looking forward to Rally Sardinia and the final round of the WRC season. It’s been a huge year for us with a lot of new events and experiences in the Puma Rally1, so we want to finish the season on a positive note and put everything we’ve learned into practice.

 

“Sardinia will be another new rally for me competitively, although I’ve driven on some of the roads before when I was there testing with M-Sport Poland a few years ago. It’s a really unique challenge with narrow, technical sections, plenty of crests and some quite rough and rocky roads. In the Rally1 car, the narrow sections will be particularly demanding because you need to be very precise with the placement of the car while still carrying the speed.

 

“It’s the last opportunity of the season, so hopefully we can enjoy the rally, put together a strong weekend and finish our first year at this level in a good way.”

Mārtiņš Sesks

“This will be our last dance with the Rally1 car and our last dance with the team this year. It’s been a great two and a half years, so we really want to put on a good show, do a good rally and get a good result. Our focus is to enjoy the stages and see what we can do on this last WRC event with these cars. It will be a great event in Sardinia, and it would be really nice to end this era with a good result.”

The end of an era

Five years ago, the Rally1 cars made their debut at the 2022 Rallye Monte Carlo with the hybrid power. M-Sport Ford WRT took that first victory with Seb Loeb and Isabella Galmiche and the late Craig Breen and co-driver Paul Nagle were third.

The hybrid was removed after a couple of years, and it was great to see all the teams score podiums and victories in these last five years. Toyota and Hyundai have won the titles for the drivers, co-drivers and manufacturers during these years.

What happens next year then will be interesting as Toyota have been developing a new car to the new WRC27 rules, but we are yet to hear about cars from Hyundai and M-Sport. Hopefully there will be some news in the weeks which follow this round. There is the Project Rally One team who have been developing a car to these new rules. Let’s wait and see what kind of programme they have for next year and who the drivers will be.

Summary

Back then to this final round and the championship decider. Elfyn and Scott are really in a good position to win the championship given their points advantage. Should Friday be dry, a good run for them could mean they hold fifth at the end of the day and would give the pairing a good opportunity to take a good level of points, before even considering what they could take on Sunday in terms of Super Sunday.

 

For Sami and Marko, the best thing they could do to secure their first top level championship is take victory and see what points their teammates take. It will be tricky though to win from second on the road given the level of gravel waiting to be swept from these roads.

 

Oliver and Elliott have to go for victory, and this will be very tricky given their lack of experience on these roads with this car. They do have the capability though which will make this interesting.