Five Toyota Drivers Battle for 2026 WRC Title

WRC, Sportrik Media - Juha Kankkunen expects the 2026 WRC title battle to continue until the final rounds after Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT drivers occupied the top five positions in the championship. Sebastien Ogier’s victory at the Acropolis Rally Greece has further tightened the internal contest ahead of the next two high-speed gravel events.

Elfyn Evans continues to lead the standings before the Rally Estonia and Rally Finland. He is followed by team-mates Takamoto Katsuta and Ogier, while Sami Pajari and Oliver Solberg complete Toyota’s control of fourth and fifth.

“It’s a really interesting situation. Our drivers are very close together in the standings, so I believe we’ll see a great fight for the championship right through to the end of the season,” Kankkunen said.

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Kankkunen reserved particular praise for Pajari following his performance in Greece. Evans, by contrast, lost substantial time while running first on the road during the opening day and later suffered a puncture, preventing him from recovering into the victory fight despite maintaining competitive pace.

Solberg’s campaign still requires greater consistency. Since winning the season-opening Rally Monte Carlo, the Swedish driver has not completed an entirely clean event. Kankkunen believes Toyota must continue working with him to reduce mistakes and keep the car on the road.

Kankkunen also acknowledged the progress made by M-Sport and Ford in Greece. Josh McErlean initially finished fourth, the best result of his WRC career, before a post-event time penalty dropped him to sixth.

“Ford was fast. It was a very good result for them and will certainly give them confidence for the future as the good results begin to come,” Kankkunen said.

Rally Estonia and Rally Finland will present a very different challenge from the rough and hot conditions in Greece. High speeds, jumps, rapid direction changes and the need for complete confidence in the car will place greater emphasis on set-up accuracy and driver commitment.

Toyota has reason for optimism after winning both rallies last season. However, the team’s dominance also means its drivers will take points from one another, while the starting order could disadvantage the championship leader on loose gravel during the opening leg.

With Evans, Katsuta, Ogier, Pajari and Solberg all positioned near the front, Toyota holds a commanding championship position but does not yet have one title contender in control. The next two fast gravel rounds could significantly reduce the gaps and define the internal battle heading into the final phase of the 2026 WRC season.