With five rounds remaining, we asked our team for their world championship estimations
Photography by Toyota
Words by DirtFish Staff
The World Rally Championship enters its final third this week, with four drivers (potentially five) contesting the title over the last five events.
As a bit of fun ahead of this week’s Rally del Paraguay, we asked our team for some predictions for the rest of the season, including of course the big question: who’ll be the 2025 WRC champion?
We’ve answered that below, but for a full set of predictions sign up to Club DirtFish today at Silver tier, and get involved in the debate there.
As a reminder, Elfyn Evans currently leads the way by three points over Kalle Rovanperä, with Sébastien Ogier and Ott Tänak both 13 points off the summit. There are still 175 points left to claim.
Based on logic – and potentially just vibes – our team has their say on who they believe will come out on top of this epic title battle.
Kalle is Alasdair's man for the title
Alasdair Lindsay: Kalle Rovanperä. Rally Finland has allowed him to find his mojo again. That matters, even if the performance doesn’t quite translate to the same degree on other rallies this year.
Even when he was frustrated behind the wheel earlier in the year, he was still carving out solid points with a Sunday push. He was in the groove on asphalt in Canarias. Fine, CER and Japan are not the same type of event as the racetrack-like ribbons of asphalt weaving their way along cliff-edges in Gran Canaria – but Rovanperä was so far ahead of the chasing pack it would seem foolish to wave it aside as irrelevant to how the next two asphalt rounds could play out.
But this was a really hard choice to make. I almost wrote Sébastien Ogier. Part of me still wants to. He’s been so strong this year; Finland being the weakest drive of the year was, at his own admission, partly down to skipping Estonia and paying the price for the difference in preparedness. And that ‘weakest’ drive was a podium finish. If he keeps his streak of 100% podium finishes to the very end, how would anyone beat him?
The answer: by using your generational talent. Which is what Rovanperä has in his pocket, so long as he’s able to unlock it again.
David Evans: Elfyn Evans. (With a surname like that, how can he fail?)
Eliot Barnard: Ogier! But you could argue a serious case between him, Kalle and Tänak in my opinion.
Ogier has the backing of 50% of our team. Tänak, interestingly, wasn't tipped by anyone
Luke Barry: I’ve long held the suspicion that Sébastien Ogier would still win a championship were he still competing full-time. To be in the conversation despite missing three rounds is simply absurd, so he’s done little to change my mind!
Last year Ogier capitulated as soon as he increased his commitment, but he was twice as worse off after Finland (27 points back instead of 13) with one fewer round left as well. The situation is not the same. Ogier does not have to take as many risks as he did 12 months ago.
Ott Tänak has the variable of a different car (Hyundai) which could work for or against him, and Kalle Rovanperä found menacing form in Finland that cannot be ignored. But Ogier has claimed more podiums than everyone else this season despite making 33% fewer starts. He will be highly motivated to prove he’s still the best in what would be one of the all-time title wins should he succeed.
What I crave is an Ogier v Rovaperä battle to see out the season. I’ve been dying to see that gloves-off fight ever since Rovanperä began his all-conquering 2022 campaign – just when Ogier went part-time instead. My wish may be about to come true.
Tags: champion, Club DirtFish, predictions, WRC, WRC 2025
Publish Date August 26, 2025 DirtFish 
https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2025/08/BsaVTHoU-OGIER09FIN25tb410-780x520.jpg August 26, 2025
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