- Published
For what must have felt like an eternity, Elfyn Evans feared history was repeating itself yet again.
asserted
history → publish → itself
At 3.05pm local time in Sardinia on Sunday, Evans could only stand and watch as another world rally title looked to be slipping from his grasp.
uncertain
title → stand → grasp
Evans was preparing in his head yet another runners-up speech - it would be his sixth - as he waited for Oliver Solberg to cross the finish line and be crowned world champion.
asserted
Solberg → prepare → line
How could this be happening again?
uncertain
this → happen → ?
Of the five previous times he had been championship runner-up, three had been decided on the final day and twice after he had taken a lead into the final event.
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he → decide → event
With just two turns to go on the final stage of the final round and with victory in sight, Solberg somehow careered off the track into the Sardinian sand to hand Evans his first world title.
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Solberg → go → title
In the most dramatic of finishes, the 37-year-old from north Wales became the first British winner of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 25 years.
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old → become → years
Only two British men had taken the title since the WRC's 1977 inception, matching the exploits of legendary pair Colin McRae (1995) and Richard Burns (2001).
Louise Aitken-Walker was Britain's first world champion when WRC ran a women's version in 1990.
"It wouldn't by my proudest way of winning it, but it's job done," said Evans.
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Evans → take → it
I felt on Friday things were slipping away.
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things → feel → Friday
We were a bit powerless with the road position we had and Oliver was flying."
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Oliver → have → position
His experienced co-driver Scott Martin revealed Evans was already apologising for his stage performance as they waited for Solberg to finish.
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Solberg → reveal → performance
"I've said all week that until we arrived at the beach after that last stage it was never over.
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it → say → stage
How true that turned out to be," said Martin.
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Martin → turn → ?
Evans and Martin have been consistent performers throughout the 2026 championship, through the streets of Monaco, the ice and snow of Sweden, the flowing roads of Chile, and the punishing, sun-baked gravel tracks of southern Europe.
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Evans → flow → Europe
Despite winning only two of the previous 12 events, the pair took a 21-point lead into the final race at Rally Italia Sardegna.
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pair → win → Sardegna
Solberg, whose father Petter won the 2003 title, was around one kilometre from glory only to suffer motorsport's version of Devon Loch.
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Petter → win → Loch
"The lead up to this event gave us a bit of a buffer and we just about managed to hold on at the end.
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we → give → end
It was an incredible finish," said Evans.
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Evans → say → ?
"I feel for [Solberg] after he came so close and lost at the last moment.
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he → feel → moment
I've been in a similar situation and it will be tough for him for a few days, but he's shown he's one to watch for the future.
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he → show → future
"
Born to drive
Evans, like Solberg, is also from fine rally driving stock.
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Evans → bear → stock
His father Gwyndaf was British champion, as well as runner-up four times, but the ruddy-cheeked farmer never got the break to complete on the world stage.
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farmer → get → stage
The curse of finishing second passed down to his son who had already turned professional by the time his father claimed the last of those near misses in 2010.
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father → finish → 2010
Evans clinched his first WRC stage win in Germany in 2014 and a first podium in Argentina a year later, before having to drop down to the WRC2 class in 2016.
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Evans → clinch → 2016
Evans admitted that blow only fueled his determination to make it in the WRC and a first rally victory followed - in his home event in Wales - in 2017.
He has been remarkably consistent, finishing second for the title in 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024 and, perhaps most agonisingly, to Sebastien Ogier by just four points in the final race of 2025.
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He → admit → 2025
He appeared condemned to be one of sport's great runners-up until the late drama of Sardinia threw up one of the championship's most thrilling finishes.
asserted
drama → condemn → finishes
There may have been a stroke of fortune about the title win, but few can deny Evans earned it.
uncertain
Evans → deny → it
The Aporia
