Julien Ingrassia had one hour to accept Sebastien Ogier's emergency call-up for Secto Rally Finland, ending almost 2,000 days out of a WRC seat. Kalle Rovanpera also returned to the Harju stage in a classic Corolla.
Rally Estonia's compressed 50-hour format won broad support from World Rally Championship crews, who kept the full 300km of stages but spent far less time on the road. Some now want it to go further.
Sami Pajari led every day of Rally Estonia to claim his first WRC win, beating Toyota team-mate Oliver Solberg by 19.5s and moving to third in the championship.
Sami Pajari won every one of Rally Estonia's seven Friday stages to build a 14.7-second lead, with Oliver Solberg and Adrien Fourmaux chasing and Thierry Neuville left baffled by his Hyundai.
With only Toyota so far building a 2027 car and Rally2-based machinery set to join the grid, Sebastien Ogier says the WRC must reintroduce qualifying to keep gravel starting order fair, a view Elfyn Evans and others partly share.
Every one of the WRC championship's top five places belongs to Toyota as the series arrives at fast, jump-strewn Rally Estonia — leaving Hyundai's Thierry Neuville, Adrien Fourmaux and Esapekka Lappi needing a rapid fightback.
Lancia has drafted WRC drivers Martins Sesks and Teemu Suninen to help develop its Ypsilon Rally2 on gravel, as the Stellantis marque targets its first loose-surface breakthrough at Rally Finland.
WRC drivers led by Elfyn Evans, Sebastien Ogier and Takamoto Katsuta are pushing back on the championship's marathon road sections after the Acropolis Rally, warning the long days are hurting crews and fans alike.
Ott Tanak has returned to Toyota as a development driver for the 2027 WRC rules, but the 2019 world champion insists there is 'no plan' for a competitive comeback.
Rally US has completed its FIA candidate event across Tennessee and Kentucky, the most concrete step yet toward the World Rally Championship's first US round since 1988 - potentially as soon as 2027.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem says the World Rally Championship's new commercial rights holder will be named within three weeks, with the decision seen as crucial to unlocking 2027 regulations and convincing manufacturers beyond Toyota to commit.
Takamoto Katsuta hasn't seen a podium since his maiden WRC wins, and Toyota's Tom Fowler thinks winning itself is the problem as an all-gravel run-in opens at the Acropolis.
Nine-time world champion Sebastien Loeb steps out of his Dacia rally-raid programme to contest Rallye Vosges-Grand Est in a 2017-spec Ford Fiesta WRC, his first stage-rally outing in top machinery since 2022.
Toyota leads the 2026 WRC by 127 points at halfway, but Hyundai is betting on road position and a gravel-heavy second half to fight back. Sporting director Andrew Wheatley wants to be 'as annoying as possible' to Toyota from the Acropolis onwards.
An FIA and WRC Promoter delegation begins a five-day inspection of Tennessee and Kentucky stages this weekend, with drivers and the FIA president lining up behind America's bid for a 2027 calendar slot.
Conner Martell will make his World Rally Championship debut at the Acropolis Rally in a Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale, the latest step in the storied marque's WRC comeback that already yielded a first win in 33 years.
Hankook is testing a revised hard compound for the Acropolis Rally after durability concerns in Portugal, a year on from Thierry Neuville's furious Greek puncture run.
WRC leader Elfyn Evans insists the title fight is wide open at the midpoint despite a 20-point lead, naming Oliver Solberg a live threat with seven gravel rounds left.
Elfyn Evans controlled FORUM8 Rally Japan from start to finish for his third win on the event and a stretched WRC championship lead, while Oliver Solberg explained the costly Saturday crash that ended his charge.
The Forum8 Rally Japan moves from November to a late-May slot for 2026, reshaping WRC strategy as Toyota's Elfyn Evans defends a 12-point championship lead over home favourite Takamoto Katsuta.
