WRC
Defending champion Thierry Neuville makes a return to the podium as Oliver Solberg dominates to grab a shock win as the WRC hit top speeds at Rally Estonia
The icy roads of the French Alps. Brutally rough dirt tracks in Kenya and Paraguay. Asphalt in the Canary Islands and Japan. Snow in Sweden. The rock-riddled routes of Italy, Greece and Portugal. These are the extremes that drivers in the 2025 World Rally Championship are set to face.
After a thrilling 2024 season that saw Hyundai's Thierry Neuville secure his first world title, after many years of near misses, on the final day of the final rally, the 53rd season of the WRC races in 14 very different destinations across four continents in the fight to see who'll become champion.
Whatever happens, rally fans already know they're in for an exciting year as Kalle Rovanperä has made the decision to return to the series full-time, after he followed in the footsteps of fellow WRC champions Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier by taking time out to explore other motorsports.
Check out the full 2025 FIA World Rally Championship calendar below, and get the lowdown from each round right here as they culminate.
01
World Rally Championship 2025 calendar
02
Rallye Monte-Carlo 2025 – Sébastien Ogier's 10th victory in Monaco
January 23–26
Sébastien Ogier etched his name further into the history books by claiming his 10th victory at Rallye Monte-Carlo, the opening round of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship. Driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, Ogier secured victory by a margin of 18.5s over his Toyota GAZOO Racing team-mate Elfyn Evans after a nail-biting final day through the French Alps.
Sunday’s decisive final leg threatened to turn the tide. Ogier and Evans opted to carry four studded Hankook tyres and only two super-soft slicks - an approach that proved effective on the icy roads of Avançon - Notre-Dame du Laus, but this left them vulnerable on the drier penultimate test at Digne-les-Bains/Chaudon-Norante. There, Adrien Fourmaux shone on a full-slick setup, outpacing both Toyotas by 23.9s and 17.8s respectively and momentarily threatening to disrupt the podium order.
03
Rally Sweden 2025 – Evans holds his nerve to take early WRC lead
February 13-16
Elfyn Evans fended off a determined charge from Toyota GAZOO Racing team-mate Takamoto Katsuta on Sunday to secure victory at Rally Sweden and move into the FIA World Rally Championship lead. After four days of intense action on Umeå’s frozen stages, Evans delivered when it mattered most - shutting the door on Katsuta in a dramatic final-day shootout to claim his 10th career WRC win by 3.8sec.
Thierry Neuville, the reigning champion, had to work hard to secure the final podium spot, fending off resurgent team-mate Ott Tänak by just 4.9sec. Tänak, hindered by an engine mapping issue on his i20 N Rally1 on Saturday, was back to form for Super Sunday and third only to Evans and Katsuta in outright pace across the final day.
04
Safari Rally Kenya 2025 - Win propels Elfyn Evans to record WRC lead
March 20-23
Elfyn Evans tamed the wilds of Safari Rally Kenya to claim a landmark victory on Sunday and tighten his grip on the WRC title race.
The Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver, co-driven by Scott Martin, beat Hyundai rival Ott Tänak by 1m 9.9s to secure his second win of the season. In doing so, he opened up the largest championship lead ever recorded after three rounds of a WRC campaign.
Tänak was joined on the podium by team-mate and reigning world champion Thierry Neuville, who finished 2m 22.1s behind after a drama-filled weekend. The Belgian’s troubles began on Friday with a one-minute time penalty after a delayed gearbox change, followed by further penalties for a jump start and a late arrival as he worked to repair damage to his car’s cooling package on Saturday.
05
Rally Islas Canarias 2025 - Rovanperä reigns in Gran Canaria with statement win
April 24-27
Kalle Rovanperä reignited his campaign for a third FIA World Rally Championship title by claiming a dominant victory at Rally Islas Canarias on Sunday.
The Finn, who arrived at this fourth round - host to the WRC for the first time - almost 60 points adrift of the championship lead, slashed that deficit to 43 after a commanding start-to-finish performance vaulted him and co-driver Jonne Halttunen from sixth to second in the standings.
Rovanperä’s triumph – only his second on asphalt – was secured by 53.5s over Toyota GAZOO Racing team-mate Sébastien Ogier and marked his return to the top step for the first time since Rally Chile Bío Bío seven months ago. Elfyn Evans completed the podium, 23.6s adrift of Ogier.
06
Rally de Portugal 2025 – Ogier celebrates record 7th win on Portugal's roads
May 15–18
Sébastien Ogier extended his winning record at Vodafone Rally de Portugal, claiming a seventh victory at the event as Toyota GAZOO Racing continued its flawless start to the 2025 season with a fifth win in as many WRC rounds. Ogier completed the four-day gravel classic 8.7s ahead of Hyundai’s Ott Tänak, with GR Yaris Rally1 colleague Kalle Rovanperä a further 3.5s back in third.
Ogier's 63rd WRC win looked far from certain until late on Saturday. Having shadowed long-time leader Tänak, the French driver inherited the lead when Tänak’s i20 N Rally1 suffered a power steering failure. The issue dropped Tänak to third overnight and handed Ogier a 27.6s lead over Rovanperä heading into Sunday. Despite spirited drives from both Tänak and Rovanperä on the final day, neither could dislodge the eight-time world champion.
"I think it's something I can be proud of, the way I've managed to stay competitive after all these years," said Ogier. "Ott was just flying like crazy, but maybe a bit too much actually - I don't know. On our side, race management is definitely a craft we have, so I'm happy. Seven times here in Portugal, not too bad.”
Toyota’s dominance of the 2025 WRC remains unbroken, with Ogier, Rovanperä and Elfyn Evans each scoring victories so far and Rovanperä's result trimmed Evans's championship lead to 30 points with nine rounds remaining. Ogier, competing on a part-time programme, now holds third overall.
07
Rally Italia Sardegna 2025 – Ogier wins again to close in on championship lead
June 5-8
After losing Rally Italia Sardegna due to a final stage puncture in 2024, Sébastien Ogier survived another heart-stopping final stage scare to win a record fifth Rally Italia Sardegna, beating Ott Tänak by just 7.9s.
The Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver looked set for an easy run to the finish after building a 17.1s lead ahead of the Wolf Power Stage, but after overshooting a tight turn in the final kilometres, Ogier was forced to stop and reverse, cutting his lead in half.
Ogier's win was built on persistence and poise. The eight-time world champion moved to the front during Friday's brutal opening stage that saw multiple Rally1 rivals fall by the wayside, before managing the gap to Tänak across the weekend. It marked back-to-back wins for the Frenchman, following his Rally de Portugal triumph last month, and his third victory of the season from just four starts – propelling him firmly into the title fight.
Elfyn Evans, who ended the rally fourth, saw his championship lead trimmed to just 17 points over team-mate Ogier, while Kalle Rovanperä finished 42.6s behind Tänak in third and dropped to third in the standings. Tänak and Thierry Neuville remain fourth and fifth respectively after round six of 14.
08
Acropolis Rally Greece 2025 – Tänak to the top for first win in 8 months
June 26-29
Ott Tänak overcame a final Wolf Power Stage gearbox failure to score a commanding victory at the EKO Acropolis Rally Greece, his first win since 2024, reigniting his FIA World Rally Championship title challenge.
The Hyundai driver had been the in-form driver all weekend at the famously rough and tumble rally, and looked set to complete a clean final day after winning two of Sunday’s four gravel stages. However, a gearbox issue struck on the Wolf Power Stage, leaving Tänak to crawl to the finish. Despite the setback, the Estonian had built enough of a margin to hang on and secure his and Hyundai’s first victory since the 2024 Central European Rally by 32.8s.
"I was very worried to be honest," said Tänak. "In the last stage, third gear got very noisy and I understood that it broke. Soon, the whole gearbox got very noisy and we didn't have much confidence that we would finish the stage and get back here. It was definitely far too much stress to win a rally."
Sébastien Ogier, winner of the previous two rounds in Portugal and Italy, led early in the rally but had to settle for second overall and his fifth podium in as many starts this season. The eight-time world champion, is set to skip the next round in Finland however.
The Acropolis Rally Greece result moved Tänak to within 12 points of current championship leader Elfyn Evans, with Ogier sitting between the pair, two points ahead of Tänak. With his home round in Estonia followed by the ultra-fast stages of Finland next on the calendar, Tänak and co-driver Martin Järveoja enter a pivotal stretch on familiar ground to make up more ground.
Championship leader Evans took fourth place despite opening the road on Friday, while Toyota duo Kalle Rovanperä and Takamoto Katsuta both returned under restart rules following Saturday retirements. Rovanperä’s hopes of scoring Super Sunday points were then dashed by a wheel change on SS15, while Katsuta was forced to stop and change a wheel in the Wolf Power Stage.
09
Rally Estonia 2025: Neuville third as Solberg grabs first WRC in
July 17-20
Defending WRC champion Theirry Neuville claimed third place as the World Rally Championship entered its high-speed phase at Rally Estonia, scoring his third podium of the 2025 season and his first since the Safari Rally Kenya, as Rally 1 rookie Oliver Solberg grabbed a stunning victory.
23-year-old Swede Solberg followed in the footsteps of his title-winning father Petter and stunned the WRC elite with brilliant display on the high-speed gravel of southern Estonia, sealing his breakthrough win on debut in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.
A late fill-in, after just two days of testing, Solberg and co-driver Elliot Edmondson set the pace from the off. They stormed into the lead with their first-ever stage win on Friday's opener stage and remaining unchallenged throughout the weekend, leading home runner-up and new Drivers' Standings leader Ott Tänak by 25.2s.
Neuville Started the final day's racing just four seconds adrift of Tänak, but incurred a 10-second penalty for a false start on SS18 and ultimately finished 23.1s behind Tänak in third, as three-time Rally Estonia winner Kalle Rovanperä finsihed the rally in four, 7.3s behind the Belgian.
Sixth place saw long-time WRC points leader Elfyn Evans drop to one point behind Tänak, but can console himself with the knowledge that for the first time in a while, he won't have to open the road at Rally Finland, which starts on July 31.
