British Evans World Champion via Rally Sardinia

However, the Swedish driver made a mistake at the penultimate corner of the final 17th special stage, losing valuable additional points that would have been enough to secure him the world championship title.

After years of finishing as runner-up and enduring disappointments, Evans finally succeeded in claiming the world title, though he remained under pressure until the final moments in Argentiera in the face of Solberg's strong comeback.

Success came on his twelfth attempt, as Evans, a five-time world championship runner-up, finally captured the title that had eluded him multiple times, such as last year when he lost it by just four points to Frenchman Sébastien Ogier.

The Welsh driver was not in contention for the rally win on the notoriously difficult Sardinian roads, but he almost paid a heavy price for trying to manage the situation and avoid risks.

His lead in the overall standings shrank stage by stage, and after suffering a puncture in the penultimate section, the gap between him and Solberg narrowed to just one point before the start of Sunday's final 17th special stage—the "Power Stage," which awards extra points to the top five fastest times, including five points for the stage winner.

The equation in this 7.1-kilometer special stage, winding down gravel and sand tracks toward the Mediterranean Sea, was clear: whoever was faster between Evans and Solberg would be crowned world champion.

Solberg finally took to the track and managed to improve all his split times compared to his rival, appearing well on his way to the title before making a driving error at the penultimate corner and going off track, thereby handing the world crown to Evans.

In his 214th World Rally Championship appearance—a record—nine-time world champion Sébastien Ogier finished Rally Sardinia in second place after winning it last year, also securing his 121st podium finish in the top category of the championship, another record.

Meanwhile, his compatriot Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai), who was provisionally in second place before being hindered by two punctures, finished the rally in fourth place.

With the conclusion of Rally Sardinia, the curtain also came down on the "Rally1" era that was introduced to the championship in 2022.

New and simpler regulations are scheduled to come into effect in 2027, in the hope of attracting a larger number of manufacturers with much less costly cars.