Oliver Solberg secured his second victory of the year in Chile and has entered the race for the World Rally Championship title, joining Elfyn Evans and Sami Pajari. All three are Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers. In Chile, Toyota also retained the manufacturers championship for the sixth consecutive time, equalling Lancia’s record of 10 titles overall.
After a gruelling Rally Paraguay, the WRC continued in South America, where Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson took the Yaris Rally1 to victory in Chile but it was far from an easy win. Sébastien Ogier, also driving a Toyota, finished just 16.6 seconds behind, while Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux was a further 0.1 seconds behind his compatriot Ogier, at 16.7 seconds from the winner. It was another podium featuring two Toyotas in the top two positions, alongside Fourmaux’s Hyundai.
Sébastien Ogier tried hard to keep his title hopes alive, but with two rounds remaining, his dream of defending the championship is now virtually impossible. Ogier currently has 171 points. Elfyn Evans, despite an unsuccessful rally that saw him finish fifth, more than two minutes behind Solberg, remains at the top of the 2026 WRC standings with 230 points. He is followed by Sami Pajari on 213 points, after finishing fourth in Chile, 1 minute and 33.9 seconds behind the winner. Oliver Solberg now has 209 points.
That leaves three strong contenders in the battle for the championship points over the final two rounds of the season. At this stage, the only certainty is Rally Sardinia, scheduled for October 1 to 4. It is still unknown whether the Saudi Arabian round, scheduled for November 11to 14, will go ahead or, more likely, be replaced by a rally on European soil.
In WRC2, a category that is becoming increasingly prominent, victory went to Yoann Rossel’s Lancia Ypsilon HF. He beat Robert Virves’ Škoda Fabia RS by an impressive 53 seconds, while Gus Greensmith’s Toyota GR Yaris finished almost a minute and a half further back.
In Chile, in addition to Toyota once again securing the manufacturers’ title, Turkey’s Ali Türkkan was crowned Junior World Rally Champion after competing in a Ford Fiesta in the Rally3 category.
The next championship calculations will be made in Sardinia in the first days of October.