WRC
Lappi's Sweden comeback or Evans' Sardinia title thriller?
Esapekka Lappi ended a wait of more than six years for a second WRC win. Elfyn Evans finally became world champion in the closing corners of 2026. Choose the last quarter-finalist.
Two long-awaited achievements complete the Rally1 Rewind opening round, with Esapekka Lappi's return to winning ways facing Elfyn Evans' first world title.
Lappi and Janne Ferm's Sweden success in 2024 brought a second outright victory after years of trying. Evans and Scott Martin's breakthrough came in Sardinia this October, at the end of a championship battle which remained unresolved until the final corners of the season.
Lappi wins again in Sweden
Six years, six months and 19 days separated Lappi's first WRC win in Finland from the moment he and Ferm finally added another in Sweden.
The wait had taken them through different teams and difficult seasons. Now, during Lappi's selected 2024 programme with Hyundai Motorsport, the pair found the result they had been searching for.
© WRC
Lappi carried a lead of more than a minute into Sunday's three stages. While others chased the additional points on offer, he focused on bringing the i20 N Rally1 home safely. The winning margin over Evans and Martin was 29.6sec.
For a driver whose maiden win had arrived on home soil in 2017, Sweden finally gave the story its second chapter.
Evans and Martin win the world title
Evans had been championship runner-up five times. A puncture on Sardinia's penultimate stage threatened to make the latest title opportunity another painful near-miss.
After stopping to change a wheel, he reached the final Power Stage with his battle against Oliver Solberg effectively reduced to a direct contest: whichever driver set the faster time would become champion.
Evans completed his run and waited. Solberg was ahead on the split times, but slid off the road near the finish. The Swede recovered to win the rally, while Evans and Martin secured their first world titles, finishing fifth overall and taking the drivers' crown by five points.
© WRC
The finish made him the first Welsh drivers' world champion and Britain's first since Richard Burns in 2001. After years of coming close, he and Martin could finally celebrate together.
Vote below before 08:00 CET on 14 November. The full quarter-final line-up will be revealed on Monday 16 November, with the competition entering its next phase on 17 November.
