Robert Virves has been officially crowned the 2026 WRC2 champion after the cancellation of Rally Saudi Arabia brought the championship fight to an early conclusion.
The Estonian driver, competing for Toksport WRT with co-driver Jakko Viilo, secured the title despite the fact that there is still one round left on the original championship schedule. The decision not to replace Saudi Arabia as the season finale, however, means that Virves’ points advantage can no longer be overturned.
Virves entered the closing stages of the season in impressive form. The Škoda driver had won four consecutive WRC2 events and strengthened his position at the top of the standings with a second-place finish at Rally Chile.
That result left Teemu Suninen as the only driver still mathematically capable of challenging him for the championship. Suninen finished Chile with a 41-point deficit and had planned to use Rally Italy Sardinia as an opportunity to reduce the gap.
The cancellation of the Saudi Arabian round changed everything.
Under the WRC2 points system, drivers nominate seven rallies during the season, with their best six results counting towards the championship. With Saudi Arabia removed from the calendar and no replacement event added, Suninen no longer has enough scoring opportunities available to close the gap to Virves.
As a result, Virves and Viilo have secured the WRC2 drivers' and co-drivers' titles before the season has officially reached its final competitive event.
For Virves, the achievement represents a major milestone in his career. It is his first WRC2 title and also the first WRC2 championship won by an Estonian driver. For Škoda, meanwhile, it marks the manufacturer's return to the top of the WRC2 standings for the first time since Andreas Mikkelsen's championship success in 2023.
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