Evans on the new Toyota WRC27 car, his 2026 setbacks and the fight to become World Champion

Elfyn Evans discusses his first impressions of Toyota’s new WRC27 car, the costly mistakes that hampered his 2026 campaign and the Sunday push that strengthened his fight for the world title.

After five runner-up finishes in the World Rally Championship, Elfyn Evans has finally reached the summit of rallying. The Welsh driver has been crowned 2026 WRC World Champion, turning years of determination, consistency and perseverance into the ultimate achievement. 

The 2026 season was a historic one for Evans, as he claimed his first-ever World Rally Championship title with Toyota Gazoo Racing, alongside co-driver Scott Martin. Despite the challenges of the second half of the season and intense competition from Oliver Solberg and Sami Pajari, Evans remained focused until the dramatic final round in Sardinia. There, he secured the championship by just five points ahead of Solberg, cementing his place in WRC history and proving that perseverance can ultimately lead to the greatest reward. Now, with the world title secured, Evans is already looking ahead to the next challenge: Toyota’s new WRC27 car.

Evans has recently taken part in testing Toyota’s WRC27 challenger, offering his experience and feedback as the Japanese manufacturer prepares for the new era of the championship in 2027. The development programme is a crucial step towards understanding the car’s characteristics, refining its performance and ensuring that Toyota is ready for the next generation of rally competition.

"I haven't done a huge amount of testing in the new car", Evans said about his first impression with the new Toyota WRC27 car. 

"I did a bit earlier in the year. 

"I did one at mid-year, and I've just done one last week now. 

"And, and of course, there's been a lot of progress in the time in terms of how the car is, is feeling, in terms of the car balance, etc. 

"But naturally, it's a very different animal to what we have now. 

"The regulation is very different. 

"So, clearly there's a lot less power. 

"That's something you notice straight away. 

"I would say the car is a bit less stable in many ways, especially at high speed. 

"Obviously, we have a lot less aero. 

"So it's probably more comparable to the Rally2 car that I drove. 

"I don't have a lot of rally, recent Rally2 experience, but obviously I did this rally in Scotland earlier in the year. 

"So it's fair to say that the car is probably more comparable to the Rally2 than it is to the Rally1 that we're stepping out of at the minute".

Moreover, he aswered which was his weakest point this year: "My weakest point this year? 

"Uh, well, actually it was probably, I would say it was probably my least reliable season in terms of non-finishes. 

"So in the past, I've always been very strong for no mistakes. 

"But this year I made a few more. 

"Obviously there was Kenya, but I felt that was also a bit unlucky, let's say, to hit that stone. 

"I think it had also moved. 

"So obviously there was the incident in Croatia, and then of course we did this mistake in, in Finland as well. 

"So they were all quite costly moments. 

"But otherwise obviously the punctures at the end of the year were something that hurt us a lot. 

"But in all honesty, I'm not sure there was a lot I could have done to change that situation. 

"I don't feel like I really took too much of a cut or really hit something that I shouldn't have done. 

"I would just say the mistakes at the start of the year were probably the most costly things".

Finally, he said about how he pushed himself in order to fight for the title again since he had finished second five times on the championship: "I will always try to reset and,start every year sort of the same really. 

"I think the target has never really changed for me in recent years. 

"It's always to start a new season, to do the best possible and to always try to fight for the title or so. 

"On that side, I didn't struggle to get going in a way. 

"But I do think that this year we put a lot more emphasis on the Sunday because I think in previous years I maybe didn't risk enough on Sunday or realize how influential it could be. 

"Maybe a bit guilty of banking the results. 

"But the reality was that with so many points available, you know, ten extra points available, it makes a huge difference to your championship tally. 

"And, and that was something that we recognized from the years before that maybe we hadn't been strong enough on Sundays, and I felt that was something that we really managed to put right in 2026".

Photo Credits: Toyota