WRC, Sportrik Media - Oliver Solberg has moved to the top of the World Rally Championship standings after delivering a commanding and historic victory at the Rally Monte Carlo, opening the 2026 season with a decisive statement against some of the sport’s most experienced competitors.
At just 24 years old, Solberg became the youngest winner of Rally Monte Carlo in the modern WRC era. His first full season in the Rally1 category with Toyota Gazoo Racing could hardly have begun more convincingly, as he resisted sustained pressure from team-mates Elfyn Evans and rally legend Sebastien Ogier throughout one of the most demanding events on the calendar.
Toyota’s authority was one of the defining narratives of the Monte Carlo weekend. The Japanese manufacturer secured a dominant 1–2–3 finish, underlining the effectiveness of its latest GR Yaris Rally1 specification developed over the winter. That technical advantage proved decisive across the rally’s notoriously unpredictable combination of asphalt, snow, ice, and mud.
The 2026 edition of Rally Monte Carlo ranked among the toughest in recent years. Rapidly changing conditions placed extreme demands on tyre choice, pacenote precision, and risk management. Solberg seized control early, most notably on SS2, run in darkness and heavy snow, where he stunned the field by setting a time 31.1 seconds faster than his closest rival to take the overall lead.
Despite several tense moments on treacherous sections, Solberg avoided major mistakes and maintained consistency to the finish. His composure under pressure proved decisive, particularly as small errors were heavily punished elsewhere in the field.
Behind Toyota’s leading trio, Adrien Fourmaux emerged as the strongest representative for Hyundai Motorsport, finishing fourth and securing 17 valuable championship points. Team-mate Thierry Neuville followed in fifth, later acknowledging the difficulty of extracting confidence from the car on Monte Carlo’s evolving tarmac stages.
The supporting categories also delivered notable storylines. In WRC2, Leo Rossel claimed a dominant victory by more than two minutes in a Citroen, while WRC3 produced a surprise winner in Matteo Fontana, who impressed with competitive stage times despite driving machinery with a clear theoretical disadvantage.
The return of the legendary Lancia name to the WRC scene via WRC2 also attracted attention. Although not yet fighting for overall victories, performances from drivers such as Yohan Rossel offered encouraging early indicators for the Italian brand’s revival project.
Following Monte Carlo, Solberg leads the championship standings with 30 points, ahead of Evans on 26 and Ogier on 18. With the calendar now turning toward the Rally Sweden in mid-February, the season’s first pure snow event will provide the next major benchmark for Solberg’s consistency and for the early balance of power between Toyota and Hyundai in the 2026 title fight.
| POS | FOTO | RIDER / TEAM | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
|
Oliver Solberg
Toyota Racing
|
30.0 |
|
2
|
|
Elfyn Evans
Toyota Racing
|
26.0 |
|
3
|
|
Sébastien Ogier
Toyota Racing
|
18.0 |
|
4
|
|
Adrien Fourmaux
Hyundai Motorsport
|
17.0 |
|
5
|
|
Thierry Neuville
Hyundai Motorsport
|
10.0 |
|
6
|
|
Leo Rossel
Citroen
|
8.0 |
|
7
|
|
Takamoto Katsuta
Toyota Racing
|
6.0 |
|
8
|
|
Yohan Rossel
Lancia
|
6.0 |
|
9
|
|
Roberto Dapra
Skoda
|
4.0 |
|
10
|
|
Arthur Pelamourgues
Hyundai Motorsport
|
2.0 |
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