Rally Italia Sardegna will decide the 2026 WRC championships in October after Rally Saudi Arabia was removed from the calendar.
Rally Italia Sardegna will close the 2026 World Rally Championship from October 1 to 4 after Rally Saudi Arabia was removed from the calendar, moving the title decider forward by more than a month.
The FIA and WRC Promoter confirmed the revised finale on September 17. Saudi Arabia was due to host the WRC season’s final round from November 12 to 15, but it was removed because ongoing regional developments affected logistical arrangements.
The change leaves 13 rounds across four continents. Sardinia, previously the penultimate stop, will now decide a drivers’ contest led by Elfyn Evans, who holds a 17-point advantage after Rally Chile BIOBÍO.
Sardinia takes over as the WRC finale
Teams have two weeks and four days between the end of Rally Chile on September 13 and the start of Rally Italia Sardegna on October 1. There is no later WRC event for crews to recover from a poor result in Italy.
Sardinia’s schedule opens with shakedown at 9:01 a. m. on October 1. The first day begins at 4:05 p. m., with competition resuming from 8:01 a. m. on October 2 and October 3. The final day starts at 8:31 a. m. on October 4.
The Saudi rally hasn’t been abandoned altogether.
It will instead run from November 11 to 14 as a round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship. Those revised dates begin one day earlier than its former WRC slot.
The official change makes Italy the championship endpoint. It also resolves whether another WRC round would replace Saudi Arabia after the logistical issue emerged.
Evans brings 17-point lead to Italy
Evans heads to Sardinia on top of the drivers’ standings, though his lead was reduced to 17 points at Rally Chile BIOBÍO, held from September 10 to 13.
“Nothing is guaranteed”
That was Evans’ verdict after the Saudi cancellation left one event on the championship schedule. His task is clear: defend the lead across four days of competition in Italy.
The calendar decision came after a costly finish in Chile for Evans. A puncture on the penultimate stage cost him time and points, while Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson completed the rally victory.
Solberg and Edmondson collected 25 points for the win. Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais finished second with 17, while Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria earned 15 points in third.
Those confirmed results tightened the championship before the final-round announcement. With no November WRC event after Sardinia, the drivers’ title will be awarded when the Italian round finishes on October 4.
Solberg takes winning form into finale
Solberg’s Chile success was his third WRC victory. He and Edmondson also secured the maximum 25 points available from the rally classification, keeping the championship fight open before Sardinia.
Ogier’s second place delivered another strong result for Toyota GAZOO Racing, which left Chile with the manufacturers’ championship already secured. Fourmaux completed the podium for Hyundai alongside co-driver Coria.
Chile supplied the last competitive evidence before the shortened finish to the season. Evans kept the lead, Solberg won the rally, and Ogier split them in the event classification.
The calendar revision arrived four days later.
Toyota title secured before October
One championship won’t be decided in Sardinia. Toyota GAZOO Racing clinched its sixth consecutive manufacturers’ crown at Rally Chile BIOBÍO, settling that contest before the final round.
The 2026 crown was Toyota’s 10th in WRC competition, moving the manufacturer level with Lancia’s record. Solberg’s victory and Ogier’s runner-up finish came alongside the confirmation in Chile.
Toyota can now concentrate on its drivers’ championship contenders in Italy, with no manufacturers’ fight left unresolved. Its title streak has reached six consecutive seasons, and its overall championship total now stands at the shared record of 10.
Lower-category title battles also moved forward in Chile. Yohan Rossel won WRC2 ahead of Robert Virves, securing his third category victory of 2026 and his first on gravel. Virves’ second place brought him closer to the WRC2 championship.
Ali Türkkan won WRC3 and became the first Turkish driver to claim the Junior WRC title. Leevi Lassila won the Junior WRC finale in Chile, where Türkkan finished second.
Compressed finish replaces November finale
Saudi Arabia’s official removal changes the championship schedule without affecting the outcome of any completed round. Every point scored in Chile stands, while Rally Italia Sardegna keeps its October 1 to 4 dates and assumes final-round status.
The season will finish more than a month earlier than teams expected. Rather than contesting Italy before preparing for a November WRC finale, crews now have one remaining chance to score championship points.
Sardinia will stage the deciding competition. Its gravel stages will finish a 13-round campaign spanning four continents, while the Saudi event continues separately in the Middle East championship.
WRC crews next report for Rally Italia Sardegna shakedown at 9:01 a. m. on October 1, before the final round starts at 4:05 p. m.
