Oliver Solberg Joins Toyota’s WRC Line-Up for 2026
Oliver Solberg has officially joined Toyota’s World Rally Championship (WRC) driver line-up for the 2026 season. The 24-year-old, who previously drove a one-off rally in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 car, will now compete full-time with the Japanese manufacturer. This marks a significant step in his career, as he replaces Kalle Rovanpera, who is moving to single-seater racing.
Solberg was part of a five-driver lineup announced by Toyota for the upcoming season, which includes Elfyn Evans, Sebastien Ogier, Takamoto Katsuta, and Sami Pajari. His inclusion follows a strong performance in 2025, where he secured the WRC2 title driving a Printsport-prepared Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 car.
His breakthrough moment came at Rally Estonia, where he and co-driver Elliott Edmondson claimed a stunning victory—Toyota’s 100th WRC win. This success positioned him as the favorite to replace Rovanpera, who had already committed to a career in Super Formula.
“I’ve had an incredible year as part of the Toyota Gazoo Racing family,” said Solberg. “We achieved our main goal of winning the WRC2 championship together and had 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 for a full season, so a lot of dreams have come true for me this year.”
Solberg’s previous experience in Rally1 came with Hyundai in 2022, but he has since made a name for himself in the WRC2 category. He expressed gratitude for the opportunity and acknowledged that there is still much to learn about the Rally1 car. “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.”
Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala praised Solberg’s contributions and highlighted the strength of the team’s driver lineup. “It’s a pleasure to welcome Oliver to the driver line-up on a full-time basis 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.”
Toyota’s 2026 Driver Line-Up
The announcement of Toyota’s 2026 driver line-up comes at a crucial time, as Elfyn Evans, Sebastien Ogier, and Kalle Rovanpera are still in contention for the drivers’ title. Toyota has already secured its fifth consecutive manufacturers’ crown, with Evans leading the title race by three points over Ogier, who won last weekend’s Rally Japan. Rovanpera is 24 points behind, ahead of the Saudi Arabia season finale later this month.
Evans, who is set for his seventh consecutive full season with the team, reflected on the year’s achievements. “We’ve enjoyed quite a lot of success together in that time, and 2025 has probably been one of our strongest years yet—both for the whole team and also for me on a personal level.”
Ogier will continue with a partial programme for the 2026 season, competing in more than half of the rounds, starting with the Monte Carlo Rally in January. “The plan next year will be the same for me as the last few seasons: to compete with a partial programme with the goal of helping the team to keep winning rallies and championships.”
Takamoto Katsuta will also return for his seventh season with Toyota. Despite not securing a maiden win in 2025, he showed promise in several rallies. “This year there have been some strong rallies for me where we have been able to fight for the top places until the finish. There have also been some tough moments, but I am sure that these will just make me stronger for the future.”
Sami Pajari, who joined Toyota in 2025, is looking to build on his debut year in Rally1 after scoring a maiden WRC podium at Rally Japan. “I know we still have a lot of hard work ahead to get where we really want to be, which is to one day be fighting for championships, but I’m really looking forward to trying to improve upon what we did this year.”
New Talent in Toyota’s WRC Challenge Programme
In addition to its driver line-up, Toyota announced that rising Estonian star Jaspar Vaher will become the first driver from outside Japan to join its WRC Challenge Programme. The 18-year-old ERC4 driver will compete in a selection of events alongside the programme’s third generation of drivers, Shotaro Goto and Takumi Matsushita.
