We called it after Oliver Solberg clinched his WRC2 title in Chile. Toyota Gazoo Racing has confirmed its 2026 World Rally Championship driver lineup.
Solberg, 24, and co-driver Elliott Edmondson have been signed up to the Rally1 squad after securing this year’s WRC2 title at the wheel of the GR Yaris Rally2 car and claiming a stunning overall win on their debut with TGR-WRT at Rally Estonia in July.
The promotion of Solberg follows that of Pajari, the 2024 WRC2 champion, who will enter 2026 having gained a full year of experience at the highest level under his belt and put in promising performances along the way alongside co-driver Marko Salminen, including a maiden podium at Rally Japan.
Takamoto Katsuta, the first graduate of the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC Challenge Program, will look to continue his growth next season after producing his strongest performances to-date in 2025 in Sweden and Finland, finishing second on both occasions with his co-driver Aaron Johnston.
With his best season ever still underway, and leading the WRC championship fight, Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin continue with Toyota while Sebastien Ogier and Vincent Landais will once again run an abridged programme that will include more than half the season.
Solberg was ecstatic about his signing: “This year has been an absolutely incredible one for me as a part of the Toyota Gazoo Racing family. We achieved our main goal to win the WRC2 championship together and to do a fast and consistent season with the GR Yaris Rally2. Then we got the opportunity to do Estonia in the Rally1 car, which was simply an amazing week. Now I have this chance to come back to the top level of WRC, so a lot of dreams have come true for me this year and I’m really grateful to be part of this great team. We need to be realistic because we still have a lot to learn with the Rally1 car, but we’re going to have fun and do the best that we can.”
TGR Team Principal Jari-Matti Latvala is excited with his driver line-up as he eyes a sixth consecutive Manufacturers’ Championship.
“The 2025 season has been an incredibly successful one already for our team, and while we’re set for a thrilling conclusion to this year, we can also look forward to 2026 with excitement. It’s a pleasure to welcome Oliver to the driver line-up after the fantastic job he has done driving the GR Yaris Rally2 this year – and, of course, his amazing debut in our Rally1 car in Estonia. Along with Elfyn and Seb, who have both been driving extremely well in fighting for this year’s championship, as well as Takamoto, who’s shown this year that he can compete for victories, and Sami, who has been gaining valuable experience in his first full season at the highest level, we will once more have a strong driver line-up featuring a great mix of speed and experience. We have a wonderful team and with these drivers, our passion will be on show inside and outside the cockpit next year.”
Toyota’s Challenge programme which nurtures talent from the lower ranks of the sport will continue with Yuki Yamamoto making another step in his development next year, embarking on a full season of WRC rallies driving a GR Yaris Rally2 including a seven-round WRC2 bid.
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