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Sebastien Ogier has claimed his ninth World Rally Championship (WRC) title, equalling a record, after a dramatic conclusion at Rally Saudi Arabia. Elfyn Evans, who led the championship by three points heading into the final round, was unable to secure his first title and now has the distinction of finishing as runner-up five times throughout his career. Ogier’s performance in Jeddah, where he finished third behind rally winner Thierry Neuville, coupled with earning nine bonus points, allowed him to edge out his Toyota teammate Evans by four points in the championship standings after 14 rounds.
Evans, 36, described the Saudi Arabian event as particularly challenging. Although he placed sixth overall, he captured nine bonus points by winning the final stage. “It was a tough event obviously,” Evans acknowledged. “We’ve done what we can, that’s it. We’re competitors at the end of the day, we always want better, we always want more.” Despite his disappointment, Evans recognized the competitiveness and intensity of the season-long battle.
Having matched Sebastien Loeb’s record of World Championship victories, Ogier reflected on the fierce competition throughout the season. “What a season that’s for sure, what a fight with Elfyn and Scott honestly,” he said, praising Evans and his co-driver Scott Martin as formidable opponents. “There is only great champions when you have great opponents – they have been super-strong, pushing us to the limit to the very last stage of the year.” Ogier’s consistency was also underlined by his six rally wins during the 2025 season, while Evans secured two triumphs, including victories in Rally Sweden and the Safari Rally Kenya.
The Rally Saudi Arabia proved controversial and challenging, with drivers repeatedly criticizing aspects of the course, calling it “a lottery.” Difficult conditions led to significant incidents late in the event, including punctures and crashes involving key contenders such as Martins Sesks, Takamoto Katsuta, and Kalle Rovanpera. These setbacks shifted the leaderboard dramatically, enabling Neuville to claim his first victory of the year. Throughout the rally, the championship lead see-sawed multiple times, with Evans and Ogier separated by the narrowest of margins before Ogier ultimately took control.
Evans has now finished as the runner-up in the championship behind Ogier on three occasions. His near misses also include finishing second to Thierry Neuville in 2024 and Kalle Rovanpera in 2023. His pursuit of a first world title continues, with hopes of joining Britain’s previous WRC champions Colin McRae and Richard Burns. Among other notable performances, Ireland’s Josh McErlean achieved ninth place in the event, concluding his first full WRC season in 11th overall, while England’s Gus Greensmith won the WRC2 category.
The official results for Rally Saudi Arabia saw Thierry Neuville win in a Hyundai with a total time of 3 hours 21 minutes and 17.3 seconds. Adrien Fourmaux finished second, followed by Sebastien Ogier in third place driving for Toyota. Elfyn Evans placed sixth overall, behind drivers such as Katsuta and Rovanpera. The final provisional drivers’ standings crowned Ogier champion with 293 points, closely followed by Evans on 289 points, while Kalle Rovanpera secured third with 256 points. Other rankings included Ott Tanak in fourth and Thierry Neuville in fifth place
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