94th MONTE-CARLO WRC Rally 2026
Crews Registred : 66
Crews 65 at start , 48 at finish
Overall distance : 1.533,22 km ( 965,13 miles)
Oliver Solberg, ably assisted by his co-driver Elliott Edmondson, made Rallye Monte-Carlo history on Sunday by winning the 94th edition of the event, which will be remembered for its difficulty.
From Thursday to Sunday, the road conditions encountered by the competitors were particularly unpredictable and tricky, adding further credit to the victorious crew.
On equal terms, in a Gazoo Racing Toyota Yaris, Solberg beat his teammates Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier, followed in the final overall standings by two Hyundai drivers, Adrien Fourmaux (4th) and Thierry Neuville (5th).
The son of Petter Solberg , who won the World Rally Champion in 2003 with his special charismatic personality , took the lead in this 94th edition from the second special stage on Thursday evening and did not relinquish it until the Power Stage at Col de Turini on Sunday, during the SS17.
He made very few mistakes : the most spectacular being a passage through a snow-covered field on SS12 :
The latter ended well and did not prevent him from setting the fastest time in this stage on Saturday morning and returning to Monaco as the clear leader.
At 24 years, 4 months and 2 days old, Oliver Solberg becomes the youngest winner of Monte-Carlo’s Rally since the establishment of the WRC in 1973.
He’s also the first young Sweden to win in the Principality, after the relative failures of Bjorn Waldegard (2nd in 1976 and 1979) and Stig Blomqvist (2nd in 1984)
René le Bègue, a French driver, won in 1937 at 23 years and 15 days old, but the championship did not yet exist in that time !
The final morning of the race changed nothing, with the young Solberg showing nerves of steel to avoid making any mistakes in road conditions that were just as treacherous, if not more so, than during the previous three days.
He never gave in to the pressure from Evans, alternating between defensive and attacking modes, and preserved what was essential until the end of the Power Stage, which he finished in style with a second place and four bonus points behind Evans.
“It’s incredible. I won thanks to the support of my whole family, which is a kind of the story of my life,” said Oliver the hero of the day, visibly moved, after climbing down from the roof of his Yaris and before stepping onto a 100% Toyota podium.
He leaves the Principality as the World Championship leader and will be racing on home turf next month in Sweden to defend his position. Ogier will only be back at the Safari Kenya Rally next March.
In the WRC2 category, a French crew took the honours, consisting of Leo Rossel, 2024 French rally champion, and Guillaume Mercoiret, in a Citroën C3, after a perfectly controlled rally.
On a side note, we will also remember that in this category Lancia made its big comeback in the WRC with two new Ypsilon HF Integrale cars, one of which , thé Lancia Rally2 driven by Yohan Rossel, Léo’s brother.
but not least, a small two-wheel drive Ford Fiesta of the WRC3/Rally3 category set two consecutive fastest times on Sunday (SS14, SS15), ahead of all the four-wheel drive Rally’s cars, twice as powerful, taking advantage of favourable road conditions in Col de Turini.
This was also thanks to the talent of 22-year-old Italian Matteo Fontana on Rally3 and it was historic.
Just like Oliver Solberg’s victory in this 94th Rally Monte-Carlo !
Under the bright city lights the Rally’s fans were able to watch a Spécial stage of the 94th edition of the Monte-Carlo Rally on Monaco’s Port Hercule, on saturday 24th January 2026 …a first since 2008
Video ACM
ROLL ON 2027 !!!
copyright Ely Galleani
