A fifth win of the season, and eighth podium, makes Sébastien Ogier the new championship leader
Photography by Toyota
Words by Luke Barry
Sébastien Ogier’s fifth victory of the season at Rally Chile has moved him into the lead of the World Rally Championship ahead of Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans.
Ogier won the 11th round of the 2025 season by 11.0 seconds over Evans, with Adrien Fourmaux claiming third place for Hyundai. Toyota has also become the most successful manufacturer in WRC history, surpassing Citroën with 103 rally wins.
Its championship lead over Hyundai is now 125 points, while winning Super Sunday and the powerstage (with Evans second on Sunday and third on the powerstage) means Ogier heads the drivers’ race by two points.
Kalle Rovanperä is third in the championship, 21 points back, after leading in Chile but outbraking himself, hitting a bank and debeading a tire on Friday. He eventually finished sixth.
Ott Tänak’s championship challenge also took a nosedive when the engine in his Hyundai failed on Friday’s final stage – forcing the Estonian out from the lead. He trails Ogier by 43 points, and is now just 15 points ahead of Hyundai team-mate Thierry Neuville who finished fourth in Chile.
Sami Pajari rounded out the top-five overall, finishing just 4.4s shy of the world champion in one of his best Rally1 performances to date. Takamoto Katsuta was a subdued sixth ahead of the lead M-Sport driver Grégoire Munster.
Team-mate Josh McErlean came home outside the top-10 after a high-speed spin on the opening stage cost him time and performance as it ripped the front bumper off, and then a fuel-related problem forced him to retire on Saturday.
Oliver Solberg therefore took ninth overall and the WRC2 win to crown himself world champion in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. Nikolay Gryazin was second in class with Jan Solans third.
Ogier said: “For sure it’s been a more difficult weekend than in Paraguay. We had to fight a bit more, I was maybe not awake enough in the morning. But we can be pleased with how we bounced back.
“These points are deserved after what we lost to the weather in Paraguay, and it’s great to be leading the world championship again. And by the way we are number one: Toyota has won more rallies than anyone else.”
Words:Luke Barry
Tags: Rally Chile, Rally Chile 2025, Sébastien Ogier, WRC, WRC 2025
Publish Date September 14, 2025 DirtFish
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