Round 12 of the 2026 WRC, Rally Chile, concluded on September 13. The official WRC report and FIA classification documents showed Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson winning in 2 hours 57 minutes 08.2 seconds. Ogier finished second, 16.6 seconds behind, with Fourmaux third at 33.3 seconds. Toyota took a one-two and clinched the manufacturers’ title early, while the drivers’ championship tightened after Evans stopped to change a wheel on the penultimate stage.
From Saturday’s lead to Sunday’s tyre test
Solberg’s lead was built on sustained performances over the previous two days. He gained an advantage on Friday’s slippery forest roads and then won both passes of the 28.31-kilometre María las Cruces stage on Saturday, extending his lead from 10.1 seconds at the start of the day to 19.1 seconds. Ogier was fastest on four of Saturday’s six stages but remained 1.3 seconds behind Evans. The three Toyotas entered the final day in the order Solberg, Evans and Ogier.
Sunday comprised four stages. Evans first won the opening pass of Carampangue to reduce his deficit to Solberg to 13.2 seconds. On the following first pass of BioBío, Solberg sustained damage to his right-rear tyre yet still set the fastest time, restoring his advantage to 14.5 seconds. Both continued to chase time; the gap established on Saturday had not settled the fight for victory.
The decisive change to the podium came on the penultimate stage. A tyre problem forced Evans to stop and change a wheel, costing him more than two minutes and dropping him from second to fifth. Ogier, Fourmaux and Pajari moved up to second, third and fourth respectively. Solberg began the final stage 13.3 seconds ahead of Ogier, then won the bonus-points Power Stage to finish with a 16.6-second advantage. Evans was second on that stage.
The manufacturers’ title, records and finishers
Toyota thus claimed its sixth consecutive WRC manufacturers’ title and its tenth overall, matching Lancia’s records of six straight titles from 1987 to 1992 and ten in total. It was also Solberg’s second win of the season after Monte Carlo. All five Toyota crews had now won more than one round that season.
Ogier also beat Solberg by 3.8 seconds in the Super Sunday classification, based on the combined times over Sunday’s four stages, to top that bonus-points ranking. He made his 213th WRC start at this event, equalling Latvala’s record, while second place delivered his 120th podium, drawing him level with Loeb. He was behind Solberg on the rally’s aggregate time but faster across Sunday’s four stages, explaining his different positions in the two classifications.
The crews further down the order also had eventful finishes. M-Sport’s post-event report said McErlean hit a roadside bank on Sunday and damaged his front bumper, but still held seventh. His total already included a 10-second penalty for a late check-in on Saturday. Armstrong retired from Saturday’s running after rolling on SS8 and damaging his cooling system, then returned on Sunday after repairs to finish 33rd in the combined overall classification. The table below ranks the Rally1 field, retaining these restarting crews and Neuville, who received no final classification.
Rally Chile final Rally1 results
| Rally1 position | Car No. | Driver / Co-driver | Team | Total time | Gap | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 99 | Oliver Solberg / Elliott Edmondson | Toyota | 2:57:08.2 | — | Finished |
| 2 | 1 | Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais | Toyota | 2:57:24.8 | +16.6 seconds | Finished |
| 3 | 16 | Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria | Hyundai | 2:57:41.5 | +33.3 seconds | Finished |
| 4 | 5 | Sami Pajari / Marko Salminen | Toyota | 2:58:42.1 | +1 minute 33.9 seconds | Finished |
| 5 | 33 | Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin | Toyota | 2:59:30.5 | +2 minutes 22.3 seconds | Finished |
| 6 | 4 | Esapekka Lappi / Enni Mälkönen | Hyundai | 3:02:15.2 | +5 minutes 7.0 seconds | Finished |
| 7 | 55 | Josh McErlean / Eoin Treacy | M-Sport Ford | 3:04:39.7 | +7 minutes 31.5 seconds | Finished; includes a 10.0-second penalty |
| 8 | 95 | Jon Armstrong / Shane Byrne | M-Sport Ford | 3:48:16.4 | +51 minutes 8.2 seconds | Retired on Saturday; restarted and finished on Sunday |
| 9 | 18 | Takamoto Katsuta / James Fulton | Toyota | 3:59:26.4 | +62 minutes 18.2 seconds | Restarted on Saturday and finished |
| Retired | 11 | Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe | Hyundai | — | — | Retired after rolling on Pelún on Saturday; not classified |
INKA SPORTS analysis: why one stop changed both the results and the title race
Solberg’s two wins on Saturday’s long stage provided a cushion against Sunday’s pursuit. Further stage wins on the final day helped him retain the lead before Evans stopped. Winning BioBío despite right-rear tyre damage showed that the damage had not erased his advantage. It was Evans’s wheel change on the next stage that caused a major reshuffle in what had been a close fight. Their tyre problems had different consequences on the clock; the finishing gap alone cannot measure their relative speed over the whole rally.
Evans’s loss affected both the overall standings and Super Sunday because the stop counted towards both aggregate times. The Power Stage compares only the final stage, so after addressing the problem he could still earn bonus points by finishing second there. That fast closing time offered meaningful compensation but could not recover the overall damage caused by losing two minutes earlier. Explaining fifth place simply as insufficient Sunday pace would also overlook his opening-stage win and second place on the final stage.
The turning point also shifted the pressures within Toyota’s title fight. After the event, Evans had 230 points, Pajari 213 and Solberg 209, leaving the latter two 17 and 21 points behind respectively. Pajari finished fourth but remained the closest championship challenger, while Solberg’s victory brought him back into contention. Securing the manufacturers’ title early did not remove the competition between the three drivers. Evans still needed to turn his stage speed into points across a complete rally.
Conclusion
Chile’s clearest contrast was how much of a lead could survive tyre trouble. Solberg built a margin on the long stages and secured victory with the fastest closing time. Evans also had winning pace but paid a much heavier price for a prolonged stop. Toyota has completed its manufacturers’ title objective. With two rounds remaining on the calendar as it stood at the end of this event, the drivers’ championship would continue to depend on the combined return from overall results and Sunday bonus points.
