Sebastien Ogier prevails in an exciting Toyota duel against Elfyn Evans in the season finale – his ninth world championship title puts him on a par with Sebastien Loeb
Toyota driver Sebastien Ogier is the 2025 World Rally Champion. The Frenchman finished third in the season finale in Saudi Arabia, while his teammate Elfyn Evans only managed sixth place. Former world champion Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) claimed his first victory of the season. It was Ogier’s ninth world championship title, but his co-driver Vincent Landais’ first.
“What a season, that’s for sure,” said Ogier in the first moment of triumph. “What a duel with Elfyn! He pushed us to the limit until the last stage of the year. It was a successful season for the entire team. I am proud to be part of this family!”
Ogier had a slight advantage going into the decisive day. At the end of the second stage, he was fifth in the overall standings, while Evans was eighth. This meant that Ogier already had a one-point lead in the World Championship.
On Saturday, Ogier was one-tenth of a second faster than Evans in SS15 (Thabhan 1). But the rally was then turned completely on its head in SS16 (Asfan), and the overall standings changed significantly.
Martins Sesks (M-Sport Ford), who had started Saturday in the lead, had to stop twice in SS16 due to tire damage and change tires. Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) also had a flat tire and had to change it.
Before the Power Stage, Neuville led the overall standings by 1:10.9 minutes ahead of Ogier. They were followed by Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai), Sami Pajari (Toyota), and Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota), who rolled his car in SS16 but still reached the stage finish.
Elfyn Evans attacks in the Power Stage
Following SS16, Fourmaux was credited with time, putting him in second place ahead of Ogier. Evans was sixth and Rovanperä only seventh. With this interim result, Ogier had a theoretical five-point lead over Evans before the final Power Stage.
The Welshman attacked in SS17 and finished with the fastest time. Katsuta and Pajari then drove until Ogier was at the start line. The veteran was behind Evans at all intermediate times and was 7.2 seconds behind at the finish. At this point, he was second in the Power Stage.
When everyone had finished, Evans was confirmed as the winner of the Power Stage, but Ogier’s time was enough for second place. Ogier collected five points in the “Super Sunday” classification and Evans four. Evans also collected five points in the Power Stage and Ogier four.
Ogier collected a total of 24 World Championship points in Saudi Arabia, while Evans collected only 17. This meant that Ogier overtook Evans, who had arrived in Saudi Arabia with a three-point lead, in the World Championship standings. Ogier ultimately won the World Championship title with 293 points, four points ahead of Evans.
With his ninth World Championship title, the 41-year-old equaled Sebastien Loeb’s record. Ogier became world champion with Volkswagen in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016, and then with M-Sport Ford in 2017 and 2018. He has already won the world championship with Toyota in 2020 and 2021. This year, Ogier did not compete in the entire season, opting out of the rallies in Sweden, Kenya, and Estonia. In the rallies he did compete in, he secured six wins, two second places, and two third places. Ogier only had one accident, at the Central European Rally.
Evans once again missed out on his first world championship title. The Welshman was runner-up in 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025. “I think we did what we could within the realm of possibility,” Evans commented on his narrow defeat.
“The puncture on Friday didn’t help, but that’s the way it is in this business – everyone had their problems. Ultimately, we are competitors and always want more. Thank you very much to everyone. I have a great team behind me at Toyota.”
Evans once again shone with consistency this year. He finished all 14 rallies in the top 10. Unlike Ogier, he only won twice, but came second five times and third once. He also finished fourth twice and sixth three times.
Rovanperä ended his WRC career in third place in the world championship. The two-time world champion is venturing into formula racing and will compete in Super Formula in Japan next year. Ott Tänak (Hyundai) bowed out of the world championship without a top 10 finish after suffering tire damage the day before.
Toyota became world champions for the ninth time this year. That leaves them just one title short of record holders Lancia.
