Oliver Solberg led Toyota 1-2-3 to open 2026 FIA WRC season in Rallye Monte-Carlo win from Elfyn Evans and Sebastien Ogier.
Thursday –
Oliver Solberg emerged from Rallye Monte-Carlo’s opening leg with a commanding early lead, as snow, ice, fog and darkness combined to deliver a brutal Thursday night in the French Alps. The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver mastered the treacherous Esclangon / Seyne-les-Alpes test to seize control of the rally and then safely negotiated a fog-shrouded finale to end the opening leg 44.2sec clear of team-mate Elfyn Evans after three stages.
Despite freezing temperatures, heavy rain and rapidly deteriorating conditions, tens of thousands of fans lined the Alpine roads – braving the elements to experience Monte-Carlo’s trademark atmosphere first-hand. Evans had struck first on the wet opening stage at Toudon / Saint-Antonin, but the rally was turned on its head in SS2. Run entirely in darkness and coated in slush, snow and sheet ice, Esclangon / Seyne-les-Alpes proved decisive as Solberg delivered a sensational drive to go fastest by a staggering 31.1sec.
The closing test of the night, Vaumeilh / Claret 1, added yet another twist. Heavy fog reduced visibility to near zero and, after just seven cars had completed the 15.06km stage, it was red-flagged on safety grounds with notional times applied to the remainder of the field. Defending world champion Sébastien Ogier set the fastest time among those who ran before the stoppage and climbed to third overall by the overnight halt, but Solberg still managed to extend his advantage over the second-placed Evans.
Behind the leading Toyota duo, Thierry Neuville recovered from a confidence-sapping opening stage to end the leg fourth overall, while Adrien Fourmaux followed closely behind in sixth despite briefly finding himself in a ditch in SS3 as dense fog made it difficult even to locate the road. One of the standout stories of Thursday night was the assured Rally1 debut of Jon Armstrong. The M-Sport Ford driver stunned the field with the third-fastest time on SS2 and ended the opening leg fifth overall, despite a small overshoot and contact with a bank late in the night.
Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta ran seventh overnight after adopting a cautious approach in the opening stages, prioritising survival as conditions worsened. He was followed by Grégoire Munster, who battled through power steering problems to hold eighth place. Further back, Hyundai’s Hayden Paddon completed the treachorous opening leg ninth overall, while WRC2 frontrunners Eric Camilli and Léo Rossel rounded out the top 10. The extreme conditions also claimed early casualties with Sami Pajari and Josh McErlean both sliding off the road and into retirement on SS2.
Friday –
Oliver Solberg continued to defy expectation on Friday at Rallye Monte-Carlo, delivering another composed and authoritative performance to extend his lead beyond one minute. On just his first event as a full-season Rally1 driver, the Toyota Gazoo Racing man not only withstood pressure from some of the sport’s most experienced drivers behind him, but repeatedly responded when conditions turned against him – ending the day with a 1min 08.4sec advantage after nine stages in the French Alps.
Friday’s six-stage leg demanded a very different approach to Thursday night’s opening loop. Snow and slush early in the morning gave way to mud and standing water in the afternoon, forcing crews to adapt constantly across the Alpine tests. Solberg set the tone immediately by winning SS4 before suffering a front-left puncture on the first pass of Saint-Nazaire-le-Désert / La Motte-Chalancon. Rather than retreat into damage limitation, he struck back decisively by going fastest again on the following two stages to reassert control.
Behind him, Friday became a steadily intensifying battle for second. GR Yaris Rally1 star Elfyn Evans had ended Thursday 24.4sec clear of nine-time world champion team-mate Sébastien Ogier, but that margin was steadily eroded as the day wore on. Evans briefly trimmed Solberg’s lead by winning SS5 and SS8, yet Ogier closed relentlessly. With a blistering run over the night-time La-Bâtie-des-Fontes / Aspremont stage, Ogier cut Evans’ advantage to just 6.5sec. Evans, meanwhile, described a day of fluctuating confidence as ruts, mud and poor visibility made it difficult to judge commitment.
Almost four minutes behind in fourth overnight was Adrien Fourmaux, whose position belied a troubled afternoon. The Hyundai driver battled ongoing electronic issues affecting the fuel pump and handbrake on his i20 N Rally1, yet still emerged more than one minute clear of team-mate Thierry Neuville. Neuville’s day unravelled on SS9 when he was dragged into a ditch by a muddy cut just two kilometres into the stage. Pushed free by spectators, he lost more than three minutes and slipped to fifth overall, describing the leg as “a struggle” despite reaching the end of the day.
After tyre issues earlier in the day, Jon Armstrong adopted a survival-first approach in the final loop – a decision that paid off as he brought his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 home in sixth. Hyundai’s Hayden Paddon ended seventh after a cautious but constructive day, overcoming a stall on SS9 and steadily building confidence in the i20 N Rally1.
WRC2 runners Léo Rossel, Eric Camilli and Nikolay Gryazin completed the top 10. Takamoto Katsuta endured one of the toughest days in the field, slipping to 12th overall after a day blighted by tyre issues and power steering failure, while Josh McErlean failed to finish after sliding off on SS9.
Saturday –
Oliver Solberg stands on the brink of becoming the youngest winner in Rallye Monte-Carlo history after surviving a dramatic Saturday that culminated with a fan-lined stage in the heart of Monaco. The 24-year-old Toyota Gazoo Racing driver holds a commanding 59.3sec lead heading into Sunday’s final leg and, should he convert that advantage into victory, will beat Sébastien Ogier’s 2009 benchmark to become the youngest-ever winner of the iconic event.
Saturday’s leg concluded with SS13, a super special stage run on part of Monaco’s Grand Prix circuit. It marked the first competitive WRC stage in the heart of the Principality since 2008, with spectators braving torrential rain and climbing vantage points along the harbour as rally cars echoed between the yachts and grandstands. Earlier in the day, however, Solberg’s rally came close to unravelling on the second pass of La Bréole / Bellaffaire. In rapidly changing conditions, he was caught out by a patch of snow and slid through a fence into a snowy field.
The Swede somehow kept his GR Yaris Rally1 moving, rejoined the road and, remarkably, still went on to set the fastest time on the stage. Behind the leader, the fight for the remaining podium positions continued to intensify. Elfyn Evans strengthened his hold on second overall and now holds a 26.0sec advantage over 10-time Monte-Carlo winner Sébastien Ogier. The Frenchman had applied pressure earlier in the day by winning SS10 but opted for a more cautious approach as snow gave way to slush and mud in the afternoon.
Adrien Fourmaux remained Hyundai’s leading runner in fourth overall after a demanding day spent managing grip in deep ruts, while team-mate Thierry Neuville recovered to fifth despite losing time with a spin on SS12. Despite an early puncture, M-Sport Ford’s Jon Armstrong continued to impress on his Rally1 debut in sixth overall, but there was disappointment for Hayden Paddon. The New Zealander had been focused on survival until SS12, where slid off the road and became stuck in a field, dropping to 13th overall.
The same test also claimed Sami Pajari, who retired after hitting a tree. WRC2 leader Léo Rossel holds seventh overall, followed by Grégoire Munster and Takamoto Katsuta, who recovered to ninth after power steering problems on Friday. With Nikolay Gryazin also sliding into retirement on SS12, Roberto Daprà completes the top 10.
Sunday –
Oliver Solberg held his nerve through a treacherous final leg to become the youngest-ever winner of Rallye Monte-Carlo in the FIA World Rally Championship era. The 24-year-old Toyota Gazoo Racing driver converted his overnight advantage into a maiden victory in the Principality, surpassing the WRC-era benchmark set by fellow Swede Björn Waldegård in 1970. The result completed a perfect start to the season for Toyota, which locked out the podium on the opening round of the 2026 campaign.
Starting Sunday with a seemingly comfortable minute-plus cushion, Solberg’s march to glory was briefly threatened on the morning’s second test. On the icy hairpins of La Bollène-Vésubie, he was caught out and overshot his GR Yaris Rally1, momentarily facing the wrong way. He recovered quickly, shedding only a handful of seconds before regaining his composure on the Col de Turini Wolf Power Stage.
Behind Solberg, Elfyn Evans secured second overall, 51.8sec adrift of the winner. The Welshman delivered a clean final day to fend off lingering pressure from Sébastien Ogier and claim more Super Sunday points than any other Rally1 driver. Ogier, the nine-time WRC champion and 10-time Monte-Carlo winner ended 1min 10.4sec further back, admitting he had no answer for his team-mates’ pace in the constantly changing conditions.
Adrien Fourmaux was the only driver able to disrupt Toyota’s dominance, bringing his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 home in a measured fourth place after scoring two stage wins during the rally. Team-mate Thierry Neuville endured a frustrating conclusion to a difficult week, with the Belgian’s hopes of salvaging bonus points ended early on Sunday when he clipped a rock and suffered a puncture, consigning him to fifth. Sunday morning brought heartbreak for M-Sport Ford, particularly its Irish contingent. Running a superb sixth on his Rally1 debut, Jon Armstrong saw his result unravel just 700 metres into SS16 when he slid off the road and retired.
To compound matters, Josh McErlean, who had already been off the road on Thursday and Friday, also crashed out on the same stage, while Grégoire Munster retired his Puma Rally1 car before the day’s opening test with a mechanical issue. Armstrong’s exit reshuffled the order behind the leaders. Léo Rossel was promoted to an impressive sixth and secured WRC2 victory, while Takamoto Katsuta climbed to seventh overall having previously been plagued by power steering issues on Friday. The top 10 was completed by WRC2 podium finishers Roberto Daprà and Eric Camilli, with Hyundai’s Hayden Paddon rounding out the leaderboard in tenth.
Result: https://www.wrc.com/en/events/wrc-rallye-monte-carlo-2026/wrc-rally-monte-carlo-2026-results
[The story is as per press release]