Five-Time Championship Runner-Up · WRC

Elfyn Evans

Thirteen world rally wins, fifty-one podiums and five seasons finished second in the championship. The official Evans collection: the dealership in Dolgellau, the Welsh win, and the years of coming close.

Nationality
Welsh
Born
28 December 1988 · Dolgellau, Wales
Teams
M-Sport Ford · Toyota Gazoo Racing
Championships
0 · runner-up in 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025
WRC starts
169
Co-driver
Scott Martin (since 2019)
Shop the Collection Watch highlights
Graphic illustration of WRC driver Elfyn Evans wearing his white and red Toyota Gazoo Racing suit, featuring his Toyota Yaris Rally1 race car
Five-Time Championship Runner-Up
2007 — Present
5
Runner-Up Seasons
13
WRC Victories
51
Podium Finishes
169
WRC Starts

Who is Elfyn Evans?

Elfyn Evans (born 28 December 1988) is a Welsh rally driver who has won thirteen World Rally Championship events and finished runner-up in the drivers' championship five times, in 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025. He has 51 podiums from 169 starts, driving for M-Sport Ford and, since 2020, Toyota Gazoo Racing.

Full name
Elfyn Rhys Evans
Nationality
Welsh
WRC career
2007–present
Best known for
Five runner-up finishes, and the first Welsh winner of a world rally

By Kozmozracing Editorial Published Updated 9 sources

Rider Profile

Elfyn Evans: Full Biography

Elfyn Evans is a Welsh rally driver who has won thirteen World Rally Championship events and finished runner-up in the drivers’ championship five times, in 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025. He has driven for Toyota Gazoo Racing since 2020.

Dolgellau He is the son of Gwyndaf Evans, the 1996 British Rally Championship champion and a former world championship driver, and his early career was backed by the family Ford dealership in Dolgellau. He won the British Junior Rally Championship and the Pirelli Star Driver shoot-out in 2010, and the FIA WRC Academy title in 2012.

Wales M-Sport gave him a full season in 2014 and dropped him to the second tier in 2016, a year in which he won the British Rally Championship. Back in the top class on DMACK tyres in 2017, he lost Rally Argentina by 0.7 seconds and then won his home event, Wales Rally GB — the first world rally win by a Welsh driver.

Second Toyota signed him for 2020 and he has been in the championship fight almost every year since, without winning it: eight points short in 2020, beaten on the final rally in 2021, and second again in 2023, 2024 and 2025. He leads the 2026 championship with three rounds remaining.

The Career

Three Chapters That Defined Elfyn Evans

Chapter 01

The Dealership in Dolgellau

His father Gwyndaf Evans won the British Rally Championship in 1996 and drove in the world championship, and the family runs a Ford dealership in Dolgellau that his great-grandfather started in Dinas Mawddwy and that took its present name in 1983. Its web address is printed across the bonnet of the Group N Fiesta he drove on his first world championship event, Wales Rally GB in 2007, at eighteen. In 2010 he won the British Junior Rally Championship, the UK Ford Fiesta Trophy and the Pirelli Star Driver shoot-out at Sweet Lamb in Wales, a prize worth more than two hundred thousand pounds. Two years later came the FIA WRC Academy title and the British R2 championship, and the Academy prize was a programme of world championship events. He was also working at M-Sport helping to develop rally cars, and when Nasser Al-Attiyah withdrew from Rally Italia Sardegna in 2013 he was put in a Fiesta World Rally Car at short notice — an event he had never contested, a co-driver he had never worked with, no testing — and finished sixth.

Elfyn Evans's white Ford Fiesta ST, car 118, on a wet forest gravel stage at Wales Rally GB in 2007, the family dealership web address gwyndafevansmotors.com printed across the bonnet. Ford Fiesta ST · Wales Rally GB, 2007 Photo: Elfyn Evans, Ford Fiesta ST, Wales Rally GB (2007) by Darren / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized) · licence
Chapter 02

Nought Point Seven, Then Wales

M-Sport dropped him to the second tier for 2016, where he won three rounds of the class and took the British Rally Championship with five wins from seven starts. Back in a World Rally Car for 2017, on DMACK tyres, he ended the first day of Rally Argentina with a lead of a minute, lost most of it to punctures, a spin and a damaged diffuser, hit a bridge on the final stage and lost the rally to Thierry Neuville by 0.7 seconds. At Rally Finland he was second, a drive many journalists called the best of his career. Then came the penultimate round, his home event: the DMACK tyres suited the conditions and he won Wales Rally GB — the first world rally victory by a Welsh driver, and the first by a British driver on the event since Richard Burns in 2000.

Elfyn Evans's white and red DMACK-liveried Ford Fiesta WRC turning in on the gravel of the Saalahti stage at Rally Finland in 2017, fireweed on the bank behind. Ford Fiesta WRC · Saalahti, Rally Finland, 2017 Photo: Elfyn Evans, Ford Fiesta WRC, Saalahti, Rally Finland (2017) by Antti Leppänen / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized) · licence
Chapter 03

Runner-Up, Five Times

Toyota signed him for 2020 and he won Rally Sweden in an event the weather cut to nine stages, leading the championship for the first time in his career; he finished that shortened season second, eight points behind Sébastien Ogier. In 2021 he won in Portugal and Finland, was second on five other rallies, and carried the title fight to the final round, where he finished the event second to Ogier by 0.6 seconds and the championship second by 23 points. Three wins in 2023 and one at the closing round of 2024 brought two more runner-up finishes, and in 2025 he led for most of the season before Ogier took the title at the last rally in Saudi Arabia. Five second places in six years. In 2026, with a third Swedish win and another in Japan, he leads the championship again with three rounds remaining.

Elfyn Evans's Toyota Yaris WRC, car 33, seen from above on a dappled asphalt stage at the Croatia Rally in 2021. Toyota Yaris WRC · Croatia Rally, 2021 Photo: Elfyn Evans, Toyota Yaris WRC, Croatia Rally (2021) by Ivan Vranić hvranic / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (resized) · licence
Career Timeline

Elfyn Evans Career Timeline: 1988–Present

Born in Dolgellau

Elfyn Rhys Evans is born on 28 December in Dolgellau, north Wales, the son of the rally driver Gwyndaf Evans.

First WRC Start

Contests Wales Rally GB in a Ford Fiesta ST and finishes 42nd.

Pirelli Star Driver

Wins the shoot-out at Sweet Lamb, along with the British Junior title and the UK Fiesta Trophy.

WRC Academy Champion

Takes the FIA WRC Academy title and the British R2 championship.

Sardinia

Called up at short notice for Rally Italia Sardegna in a Fiesta World Rally Car, and finishes sixth.

M-Sport

A first full season in a World Rally Car, alongside Mikko Hirvonen.

Demoted

Dropped to the second tier, he wins the class three times and takes the British Rally Championship.

First Win

Wins Wales Rally GB, the first world rally victory by a Welsh driver.

Toyota

Wins Rally Sweden and ends the season second, eight points behind Ogier.

Second by 0.6 Seconds

Takes the title fight to the last rally and loses both the event and the championship to Ogier.

Three Wins

Croatia, Finland and Japan, and a third runner-up finish.

Runner-Up Again

Leads for most of the year before Ogier takes the title at the final round.

Championship Lead

Wins in Sweden and Japan and leads the standings with three rounds to run.

By the Numbers

Elfyn Evans WRC Record, Season by Season

Elfyn Evans season-by-season record: team, wins, starts, podiums, points and final standing.
SeasonTeam Wins Starts Podiums Points Pos.
2007 Private 0 1 0 0 –
2011 Private 0 3 0 0 –
2012 Private 0 6 0 0 –
2013 Qatar M-Sport 0 7 0 20 12
2014 M-Sport 0 13 0 81 8
2015 M-Sport 0 13 2 89 7
2016 M-Sport 0 7 0 6 21
2017 M-Sport Ford 1 13 3 128 5
2018 M-Sport Ford 0 13 2 80 7
2019 M-Sport Ford 0 10 2 102 5
2020 Toyota 2 7 3 114 2
2021 Toyota 2 12 7 207 2
2022 Toyota 0 13 4 134 4
2023 Toyota 3 13 7 216 2
2024 Toyota 1 13 7 210 2
2025 Toyota 2 14 8 289 2
2026 Toyota 2 11 6 216 1*

Career totals: 13 wins · 51 podiums · 1,892 points from 169 world championship starts. Wins, starts, podiums and points all sum to those totals. The 2012 row is his FIA WRC Academy season, run on world championship events but scoring no drivers' points, and the 2007, 2011 and 2012 seasons carry no championship position. The 2026 row is marked with an asterisk because the season is in progress: he leads the standings on 216 points after eleven of fourteen rounds. Points are not comparable across the table, as the scoring system and the number of rounds both changed over his career. Stage wins stand at 226, verified through Rally Finland in 2026. The Wikipedia infobox is behind these figures, giving 163 starts, 12 wins, 48 podiums and 1,777 points; the season table and the juwra.com database agree with the totals used here. Figures verified 3 September 2026.

Elfyn Evans in his own words

In His Own Words
It's been a great start to the year, but it's still early days and we need to keep working hard.
Elfyn Evans · after winning Rally Sweden, February 2026

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Frequently Asked

Elfyn Evans: Frequently Asked Questions

How many World Rally Championships has Elfyn Evans won?

None. He has finished runner-up in the drivers' championship five times — in 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025 — and has led the 2026 standings. He did win the FIA WRC Academy title in 2012 and the British Rally Championship in 2016.

How many rallies has Elfyn Evans won?

Thirteen world championship rallies from 169 starts, along with 51 podium finishes and 1,892 points. His first came at Wales Rally GB in 2017 and his most recent at Rally Japan in 2026.

Who is Elfyn Evans's father?

Gwyndaf Evans, the 1996 British Rally Championship champion and a former world championship driver. The family Ford dealership in Dolgellau, started by Elfyn's great-grandfather, backed his early career and its name appears on the car he drove on his first WRC event.

How close has Elfyn Evans come to the world title?

Very. He finished eight points behind Sébastien Ogier in 2020, took the 2021 fight to the final rally and lost that event by 0.6 seconds and the championship by 23 points, and led for most of 2025 before Ogier took the title at the last round in Saudi Arabia.

Who is Elfyn Evans's co-driver?

Scott Martin, alongside him since 2019. Daniel Barritt, Craig Parry, Phil Mills, Sebastian Marshall and others sat in the seat earlier in his career.

What happened to Elfyn Evans in 2016?

M-Sport dropped him from the top class to the second tier. He won the category at Monte Carlo, Sweden and the Tour de Corse, and took the British Rally Championship with five wins from seven rounds, which earned him a return to a World Rally Car the following season.

Why did Elfyn Evans's first win matter in Wales?

It was the first world rally victory by a Welsh driver, and the first by a British driver on Wales Rally GB since Richard Burns in 2000. It came on the penultimate round of 2017, helped by DMACK tyres that suited the conditions.

Is Elfyn Evans leading the 2026 championship?

As of 3 September 2026, yes. He has 216 points after eleven of the fourteen rounds, with wins in Sweden and Japan, ahead of Sami Pajari. Three rallies remain: Chile, Sardinia and Saudi Arabia.

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References

Sources & Further Reading

Every statistic on this page is drawn from the following records.

  1. Rally Sweden 2026 Day 4: snow master Evans leads a 1-2-3-4 finish · Toyota Gazoo Racing (official)
  2. Toyota Gazoo Racing — World Rally Championship · Toyota Gazoo Racing (official)
  3. Elfyn Evans — WRC career statistics · juwra.com rally database
  4. Elfyn's WRC starts, event by event · juwra.com rally database
  5. 2026 World Rally Championship — drivers' standings · Wikipedia
  6. 2026 Rally del Paraguay · Wikipedia
  7. 2017 Wales Rally GB · Wikipedia
  8. Elfyn Evans · Wikipedia
  9. Elfyn Evans (Q5359948) · Wikidata entity record

How this page is made

Rider profiles are compiled from official series records and cross-checked against independent statistical databases before publication.

Commercial disclosure. This page links to merchandise sold by Kozmozracing. Products are fan-made tributes inspired by motorsport history and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed from the rider, their estate, or any team.

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