Toyota’s sixth straight manufacturers’ championship prompted Juha Kankkunen to call its record-equalling 10th WRC title “quite incredible.”
Juha Kankkunen described Toyota GAZOO Racing’s record-equalling World Rally Championship manufacturers’ title as “quite incredible” on September 15, two days after the team sealed it at Rally Chile BIOBÍO.
It is Toyota’s sixth consecutive championship and its 10th overall, drawing the manufacturer level with the WRC record. The milestone came during a weekend when Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson won for Toyota, ahead of Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais in a one-two finish.
“Quite incredible”
Toyota secures its 10th manufacturers’ title
Rally Chile BIOBÍO took place from September 10 through September 13, with the result deciding the manufacturers’ contest before the season’s final two scheduled rallies.
Solberg and Edmondson earned 25 points for the victory, while Ogier and Landais scored 17 in second. Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria finished third, collecting 15 points.
It was Solberg’s third WRC victory.
Toyota’s latest championship stretches its winning sequence to six straight seasons. The overall tally places the current run alongside the series’ most successful manufacturers’ record, with 10 championships secured.
Kankkunen responded on September 15 by calling the total “quite incredible.” The Finnish four-time drivers’ champion has a long competition history with Toyota, including WRC wins for the manufacturer.
Solberg seals the Chile result
Solberg delivered the leading result on the weekend Toyota wrapped up its manufacturers’ campaign. Alongside Edmondson, he headed Ogier and Landais to give the team first and second in Chile.
Fourmaux and Coria claimed the final podium position for Hyundai. The confirmed points totals for the three leading crews were 25 for Solberg, 17 for Ogier and 15 for Fourmaux.
The victory also moved Solberg’s drivers’ championship campaign forward. Elfyn Evans departed Chile with a 17-point standings lead after a puncture cost him a podium finish.
Evans called the puncture “harsh.”
The two championships therefore left Chile at different stages. Toyota had clinched the manufacturers’ title, while Evans took his 17-point advantage toward the last two scheduled rounds.
Four Toyota drivers shape the run-in
Toyota’s Chile result featured Solberg’s victory and Ogier’s second place, with Evans holding onto the drivers’ championship lead despite missing out on a podium. Sami Pajari also started the event after becoming the first driver to win his first three WRC rallies consecutively.
Those confirmed results put Toyota crews at the heart of the remaining drivers’ battle, although the available post-Chile information confirms only Evans’ 17-point lead, rather than a complete verified standings table.
No team-order policy for the final rounds has been announced in the material published through September 16. Toyota has achieved its manufacturers’ target, while its drivers will keep scoring toward the individual championship in Italy and Saudi Arabia.
The current information also contains no confirmed change to Toyota’s driver lineup. Contract speculation and any claim about a preferred title contender are not part of the established record.
Chile crowns champions beyond Rally1
The weekend decided a junior championship and delivered a significant WRC2 result.
Yohan Rossel claimed his third WRC2 victory of 2026 and his first gravel win in the category. He beat Robert Virves, who moved closer to securing the WRC2 championship.
Ali Türkkan achieved two milestones. He won WRC3 and clinched the FIA Junior WRC championship after placing second to Leevi Lassila in the Junior WRC classification at Rally Chile BIOBÍO.
Türkkan became the first Turkish driver to claim the Junior WRC title.
The results added three distinct achievements to Toyota’s manufacturers’ championship. Rossel took his first gravel victory in WRC2, Türkkan delivered a national first, while Solberg secured the third WRC win of his career.
The drivers’ battle heads to Italy
Evans carries his 17-point championship lead into Rally Italy, which is scheduled for October 1 through October 4.
That leaves the crews more than two weeks between the September 13 finish in Chile and the opening date in Italy. Rally Saudi Arabia, the final scheduled round, runs from November 11 through November 14.
Toyota heads to the next event with the manufacturers’ championship secured and its record-equalling tally confirmed. The focus turns to the drivers’ standings, led by Evans after his Chile puncture, while Solberg arrives with 25 points from his third WRC victory.
Rally Italy begins on October 1.
