Evans wins first World Rally Championship title

Elfyn Evans won his first World Rally Championship title on Sunday after a dramatic final-stage finish in Sardinia, where a late mistake by rival Oliver Solberg changed the championship outcome. The 37-year-old Welsh driver, from Dolgellau, secured the crown with co-driver Scott Martin and Toyota Gazoo Racing, ending a run of five runner-up finishes in the previous six years. The final results were reported as awaiting official confirmation by the FIA. Evans finished fifth in the Rally Italia Sardegna. He had completed the final Power Stage before Solberg, who was running ahead of Evans’ time, went off the track on the closing section. Solberg recovered and won the rally, but lost the bonus points available for a top-five finish on the stage. That left Evans ahead in the championship standings. One published final standings account put Evans on 243 points, Solberg on 238 and Sami Pajari on 237. Evans became the first British world rally champion since Richard Burns won in 2001, and the first Welsh driver to claim the title. Toyota had already secured the manufacturers’ championship, according to the same account. The outcome followed a tense final day.