TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team driver Sébastien Ogier has won a record-equalling ninth FIA World Rally Championship title after he and co-driver Vincent Landais prevailed in a dramatic final-day decider at Rally Saudi Arabia.
Ogier went head-to-head with team-mates Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanperä to be crowned world champion at the brand-new season-ending event, which proved incredibly demanding with its combination of soft and sandy desert tracks and rough and rocky mountain roads as well as high temperatures.
A significant road cleaning effect on the loose surface meant the trio were unusually not a factor in the fight for the rally win, and they would also be among the drivers to lose time from the high risk of punctures on the abrasive stages.
Evans had led the standings by three points over Ogier coming into the event, but had to stop and change a tyre on Friday morning, conceding 1m40s. However, Ogier also dropped time with a loss of tyre pressure in the afternoon, and was just two positions ahead of Evans and thus effectively one point in front going into the final day, when 10 bonus points were additionally on offer for the fastest drivers across the day and the rally-ending Power Stage.
Just 0.1s separated Ogier and Evans in the morning’s opening stage but the subsequent and penultimate Asfan test – the longest of the rally at 33.28 kilometres – would prove pivotal. Ogier went 7.9s faster than Evans and then found himself promoted to third overall as other drivers hit problems, with four places now between him and Evans.
Evans gave his all in the rally-ending Power Stage, setting the fastest time by 7.2s, but Ogier managed to stay ahead in the Super Saturday classification and win that by 0.8s as well as securing his 10th podium from 11 starts this season, which has included six rally wins.
Ogier equals the record of fellow Frenchman Sébastien Loeb in winning a ninth title, and does so four years after claiming his last championship and stepping away from full-time competition. This is his third title with TGR-WRT, and the first championship for Landais.
It is the sixth time in seven years that a TGR-WRT crew has been crowned world champions, and the fourth time in five years that the team has swept all three championships, having already clinched the manufacturers’ crown in October’s Central European Rally. In total, it is the 10th drivers’ title achieved at the wheel of a Toyota: a joint record with Lancia.
Finishing as championship runners-up, Evans and Martin built an excellent season on unrivalled consistency, placing inside the top six on all 14 rallies, and taking two wins and six other podiums along the way.
Rovanperä and co-driver Jonne Halttunen had an outside chance of winning a third world title, needing to overturn a 24-point deficit in the final round. Their chances took a hit already on Thursday morning when they sustained tyre damage, but they recovered well to enter the final day fifth, just 0.2s in front of Ogier.
On his last day of WRC competition before he makes a groundbreaking switch to single-seater circuit racing with the support of TGR next year, Rovanperä looked to be in trademark ‘full send’ mode, only to sustain tyre damage in the wild penultimate test, leaving him seventh at the finish.
Sami Pajari completed his first full season of Rally1 competition with perhaps his strongest performance to-date. Fresh from a maiden podium on the previous round in Japan, he took two stage wins on Thursday and was part of a close fight for the lead until he had to stop and change a tyre on Friday afternoon, losing two minutes. He and co-driver Marko Salminen fought back on the final day, moving from seventh to fourth overall.
Takamoto Katsuta came into the final day in third position after a largely trouble-free run. Attempting to fend off Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai), he rolled in the penultimate stage but managed to reach the finish in fifth.
Already crowned WRC2 champions, Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson finished as the leading Rally2 crew for the ninth time this season (and fifth rally in succession) in their GR Yaris Rally2 run by Printsport. The pair will step up to be part of TGR-WRT’s Rally1 line-up in 2026.
Quotes:
Akio Toyoda (TGR-WRT Chairman)
“Wow! He is surely strong! When I watch Seb, that’s the thought that comes to mind. Congratulations on the ninth championship, and congratulations to Vincent on his first title as well!
I’m not sure if it’s OK to say congratulations on another silver medal, but Elfyn’s consistent driving is truly valuable to the team. And we will be counting on him to bring our GR YARIS safely to the finish line next year as well. If he does so, I’m sure great things will happen.
The youngest WRC winner, breaking Jari-Matti’s record, the youngest champion at 22 years and one day old, winning a rally as a late substitute for Seb, finally achieving a victory in his home country Finland, and then a new challenge in circuit racing... I really enjoyed being on the same team with Kalle, and I'm looking forward to seeing him at a circuit in Japan next year.
“I’ll come back stronger next season.” I believe in Takamoto’s words after today’s Power Stage. Also, I want to see Sami on the podium again next year. I’m looking forward to seeing him even higher up!
Juha, Jari-Matti, and everyone in the team, thank you so much for the hard work this season and bringing the manufacturers’ championship. I hope everybody takes a good rest for a while. Merry Christmas!
P.S.
Ott, thank you as well!”
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal)
“This was an incredibly close fight between Seb and Elfyn that went right down to the last stage of the last rally of the season. I think Seb has shown that he is the best driver in the world at the moment, and maybe even of all time: he has equalled the record by winning a ninth title, and he’s done it with three different manufacturers. I also won with three teams – but I only won four titles! Elfyn has done a fantastic job as well. He didn’t make any mistakes, he had to be first car on the road for most of the season and he was so consistent, and it will be great to have him with us and trying to go for it again next year. Kalle also tried his best even though it wasn’t really in his hands this time. We will miss him, but we look forward to following his new challenge, and with fast youngsters like Sami and Oliver coming through, I’m sure we can have another strong season in 2026.”
Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“I think we did what we could this weekend. The tyre change on Friday didn’t help but that’s been the name of the game this week and everyone’s had their fair share of issues. I didn’t have a great run through the middle stage – I’ve been struggling a bit in the more sandy sections this weekend – and many others had problems which promoted Seb up the leaderboard. It wasn’t to be for us, but Seb and Vincent have been amazing all year and deserve this title. I’m a competitor and I always want more, but it’s been a good season with a fantastic team behind us, pushing us all the way: thank you to everyone for the amazing job.”
Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“Congratulations to Seb and Vincent on the title: they fully deserve it, they have been very good this year. For us it was not really the last rally that we wanted but we knew that it would be tough. Still, the feeling is good. Of course, it’s sad to be leaving the sport and the people who have been the biggest part of my life, but I can also be super proud of what we’ve achieved: it has been quite amazing. I have so many people to thank but first of all to Jonne, we’ve had such good times together; great results but also a lot of fun. And a special thanks to Toyota and everyone in the team for these great years together.”
Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“What a fight it’s been with Elfyn and Scott. A great champion needs great opponents, and they have been super strong and pushing us to the limits until the very last stage of the year. Well done to them, to Kalle and Jonne also, and to the whole team. It’s been such a successful season, and I’m proud and happy to be part of this family. I never thought that this moment of a ninth title would come after I decided to make a change and spend more time with my family. It’s thanks to having the chance to work with this fantastic team, and finding a young co-driver in Vincent who’s doing an amazing job alongside me, bringing such positive energy and making me feel younger. Together we’ve achieved great things and I’m very happy to welcome him to the world champions’ club.”
Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“It was good to reach the finish of this rally but today could have been better. We were fighting for the podium until one slightly optimistic pacenote in the penultimate stage. We went off and when trying to come back to the road, we dug into the very soft sand and it caused us to roll. It’s such a pity because we were being patient all weekend and then made this small mistake, but this is rallying. I’m sorry to the team but I want to thank them for the massive support they gave me this year, and I will work hard to come back stronger.”
Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“We came here with a mission to take the first win and it was going really well for a lot of the rally. It’s disappointing what happened yesterday afternoon which meant we couldn’t have an even better result, but I’m super happy with the performance that we did here this week on a new and difficult rally. After the podium in Japan, we end this first season with quite a nice feeling, and I’m really grateful to the team for the great job they are doing to help us get faster and stronger. It feels promising for next year and I’m looking forward to that.”
PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, RALLY SAUDI ARABIA
1 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 3h21m17.3s
2 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +54.7s
3 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m03.3s
4 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m51.7s
5 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m59.9s
6 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +3m43.9s
7 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +5m31.5s
8 Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +7m07.2s
9 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +8m30.5s
10 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +10m00.6s
(Results as of 14:20 on Saturday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for drivers after round 14:
1 Sébastien Ogier 293 points
2 Elfyn Evans 289
3 Kalle Rovanperä 256
4 Ott Tänak 216
5 Thierry Neuville 194
6 Takamoto Katsuta 122
7 Adrien Fourmaux 115
8 Sami Pajari 107
9 Oliver Solberg 71
10 Grégoire Munster 40
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for manufacturers after round 14:
1 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team 735 points
2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 511
3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 205
4 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT2 158
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