wrc rally CHILE 2026: conor edwards
WRC Rally Chile
The rally began with a surprise change in conditions. Overnight rain left Friday morning’s roads sodden and slippery. Championship leader Evans had been concerned about opening the loose gravel roads, but the rain reduced the road-cleaning disadvantage and immediately played into his hands.
Solberg was nevertheless quickest through the 22.94-kilometre Turquía opener, edging Evans by 1.4 seconds. Evans hit back on Nuevo Rere. The Welshman took the stage and moved 0.4 seconds ahead of Solberg overall, but the lead changed hands again on Hualqui. Solberg responded with a 2.7-second stage win to regain first place before the opening service.
Behind the leading pair, Sami Pajari was struggling to find his rhythm. The Finn lost 17.8 seconds on Turquía as changing grip levels undermined his confidence, particularly through the narrower sections. Adrien Fourmaux also encountered trouble, a technical problem on Nuevo Rere forcing the Hyundai driver to manage his pace. He nevertheless remained firmly in the fight for the podium. Thierry Neuville provided one of the morning's standout performances, taking the Hualqui stage win to climb from sixth to fourth. Sébastien Ogier, meanwhile, was only half a second behind Neuville in fifth, despite a difficult opening stage.
The afternoon brought another transformation in the road conditions as the stages dried out. Pajari responded strongly, winning the second pass of Turquía, while Ogier took Nuevo Rere. Solberg saved his answer for the final Hualqui run, going fastest to extend his advantage. By the end of Friday, Solberg led Evans by 10.1 seconds. Fourmaux was third, just 18 seconds from the lead, while Ogier sat fourth only 1.7 seconds behind the Hyundai. Pajari had recovered to fifth after his difficult morning, with Neuville sixth. With five different drivers winning stages across the opening six tests, the fight was wide open.
Saturday
Saturday, however, belonged initially to Ogier. The nine-time world champion attacked immediately, winning Pelún by 3.4 seconds and then taking another stage victory on Lota. Solberg was unable to match the pace and saw his advantage come under serious pressure. After the opening two stages, Ogier had closed to within 9.3 seconds of Solberg and just 2.1 seconds off Evans. What had looked like a controlled lead for Solberg was suddenly coming under threat. The decisive test of the morning was the 28.31km María las Cruces. Solberg admitted that the balance of his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 was not perfect, but he managed his tyres through the opening kilometres before increasing the pace towards the finish. Solberg won the stage by 2.9 seconds over Evans and restored his advantage to 10.1 seconds at service.
Tyre choice was proving critical in Chile. Ogier had opted for hard rubber and lost 10.7 seconds, while Fourmaux's decision to use softer tyres paid off. The Hyundai driver moved back ahead of Ogier into third, although the margin remained tiny. Evans continued to occupy second, eight seconds clear of Fourmaux, while Pajari's difficult weekend continued. The Finn survived a sizeable moment against a bank on Lota and reached service fifth, more than 50 seconds from the lead. Neuville's difficult weekend ended abruptly on Pelún. The Hyundai driver ran wide at a right-hander 8.3 kilometres into the stage and clipped the outside bank, launching his i20 N Rally1 into a barrel roll. Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe were unhurt, but the damage ended their rally. Jon Armstrong was the next major casualty. The M-Sport Ford driver hit a bank on SS8 and rolled his Puma Rally1 onto its side. He reached the finish but was subsequently forced out of Saturday's leg.
At the front, the fight remained intense. Ogier continued his attack through the afternoon and once again topped Pelún and Lota. With three stages remaining, the Frenchman was closing rapidly on Evans. After SS11, only three-tenths separated the pair in the battle for second. Evans found the response he needed on the final stage, beating Ogier by 1.0 second to preserve second place by 1.3 seconds overnight. Solberg, meanwhile, ended Saturday with 20.4 seconds over Ogier and 10.1 seconds over Evans. Fourmaux was fourth, another 10.7 seconds behind Ogier after a three-soft-tyre gamble failed to deliver the expected advantage.
Sunday
Solberg began Sunday with a 19.1-second lead over Evans, but the championship leader immediately applied pressure. Evans won the opening Carampangue test, cutting the gap to 13.2 seconds. On the first pass of BIOBÍO, he set the fastest time despite sustaining right-rear tyre damage. The Toyota driver extended his advantage to 14.5 seconds, but Evans remained firmly in contention. Then, on the penultimate Carampangue stage, everything changed. Evans was forced to stop and change a wheel. More than two minutes disappeared in the roadside delay, turning what had looked like a fight for victory into a battle simply to salvage championship points. Evans dropped to fifth. Ogier inherited second, Fourmaux moved into third and Solberg suddenly had 13.3 seconds in hand heading into the Wolf Power Stage.
Oliver Solberg went fastest again, beating Evans by 0.5 seconds to complete a composed and hard-fought victory. Ogier finished second to claim his 120th WRC podium, moving level with Sébastien Loeb on the all-time tally. Fourmaux completed the podium for Hyundai, securing his 13th career WRC podium. Pajari inherited fourth, while Evans recovered to fifth and took second-fastest on the Wolf Power Stage to add valuable bonus points to a day that had threatened to become disastrous.
The championship standings with two rounds to go sees Evans remains leader, but Solberg has closed to within 21 points, with Pajari just four points further back. Toyota clinched the Manufacturers Championship in Chile, equally Lanica’s record of 10 WRC Manufacturers titles.
