2026 World Rally Championship

The 2026 season is scheduled to be contested over fourteen rounds across Europe, Africa, South America and Asia. Calendar changes returned to the championship after being held as a European Rally Championship event in 2025. • The Croatia Rally returned to the championship after missing the season, replacing the Central European Rally. The rally featured new headquarters in Rijeka, instead of Zagreb and brand new set of mixed tarmac stages. • The Italian Rally and Rally Japan swapped calendar slots, and the new Rally di Roma Capitale was confirmed to replace the Rally Italia Sardegna from onwards. • The organisers of the Acropolis Rally have announced the change of its headquarters, with Loutraki to serve as the new base after five years in Lamia. ==Entrants==

The following manufacturers are set to contest the championship under Rally1 regulations. All crews use tyres provided by Hankook. The following crews entered in Rally1 cars as privateers or under arrangement with the manufacturers. In detail M-Sport kept the crew of Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy. Jon Armstrong and Shane Byrne would step up from the European Rally Championship to complete a full Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy lineup for the team, replacing Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka in the second full-time seat. Munster was later confirmed to contest the season opener in a third Rally1 car with the team. Mārtiņš Sesks would continue to run a partial program with the team, contesting seven events during the season. Hyundai maintained the services of Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe, and of Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria for entry in all rallies. A third car will be shared by crews led by drivers Esapekka Lappi, Dani Sordo and Hayden Paddon. Paddon is set to make his first appearance in the premium level of the championship since the 2018 Rally Australia. Lappi and Sordo are also due to return after their previous partial campaigns with the team in . Ott Tänak announced his indefinite break from the championship following the end of the season. returned to the top tier for his first full-time campaign. Toyota retained Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin as their full-time competitor, while Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen, as well as Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston were also retained. Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais would continue to run a partial program to contest ten rallies with the team. Kalle Rovanperä announced that he would leave the championship to pursue a career in open-wheel racing, having signed a contract with Toyota Gazoo Racing to compete in the Super Formula Championship. However, he did not rule out a return to rallying in the future. His seat at Toyota was filled by Oliver Solberg, who is under contract to run his first full-time season in the class, having previously run on a part-time basis for Hyundai in . ==Regulation changes==

Following the wide criticism of lengthy itinerary, a minimum of 10 rest hours was introduced into the event. Engines are also allowed to change after the start of a rally, but in doing so, crews would incur a 60-minute time penalty. ==Season report==

Opening rounds The season opener was held under complicated weather conditions, which caught out several crews, including both M-Sport crews of McErlean and Treacy, and of Armstrong and Byrne, meaning M-Sport ended their 24-year point-scoring finish. The rally was won by Solberg and Edmondson in their first rally of their first full-time season in the top-tier. Toyota continued their dominance in the following round, locking a 1–2–3–4 at the end of the rally, with Evans and Martin winning the event. The tough Safari Rally saw all three Toyota crews nominated to score points retire on Saturday. Despite running outside of top five by the first leg, Katsuta and Johnston took their maiden victory. A similar story unfolded in Croatia, as both championship contenders Solberg and Evans exited early in the rally. Benefiting from avoiding punctures, Neuville and Wydaeghe took the lead, a position they held until the final Power Stage, where they retired after crashing off-road. Katsuta and Johnston subsequently inherited the win and led the championship for the first time in their careers. Paddon returned to the podium for the first time since the 2018 Rally Australia by claiming third. Mid-season events Toyota dominated the rally of Spain, with Ogier and Landais winning the event. Title contenders Solberg and Edmondson retired on the penultimate stage of the rally when they were in second after crashing into the barrier. ==Results and standings==

Season summary Scoring system Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers in each event. In the manufacturers' championship, teams are eligible to nominate three crews to score points, but these points are only awarded to the top two classified finishers representing a manufacturer and driving a 2025-specification Rally1 car. There are also five bonus points awarded to the winners in an accumulated standings across all Sunday stages, four points for second place, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth. The same points scale is awarded to the five fastest crews of the Power Stage as well. FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers The driver who records a points-scoring classification would be taken into account for the championship regardless of the categories. Notes:Main script – Final positionText below – Points scored from overall, Sunday and the Power Stage FIA World Rally Championship for Co-Drivers The co-driver who records a points-scoring classification would be taken into account for the championship regardless of the categories. Notes:Main script – Final positionText below – Points scored from overall, Sunday and the Power Stage FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers Only the best two results of each manufacturer in the respective overall classification by the end of each rally, accumulated position of all Sunday stages and Power Stage at each rally are taken into account for the championship. Notes:Main script – Final positionText below – Points scored from overall, Sunday and the Power Stage ==Notes==