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Elfyn Evans’ first world title was denied after a contentious Rally in Saudi Arabia when Sebastien Ogier claimed a record-equalling ninth title in a record-equalling ninth Word Rally Championship (WRC) title.

Evans, 36, holds onto his championship lead to the end of the season by three points and is now five times runners-up.

At the conclusion of the 14-race calendar, Ogier placed third behind defending champion Thierry Neuville in the Jeddah-based competition, and he also collected nine bonus points to finish four ahead of Toyota team-mate Evans.

According to Welsh driver Evans, who finished sixth in Saudi Arabia but did manage to win the stage and also earned nine final-day bonus points, “It was a tough event obviously.”

After tying Sebastien Loeb’s World Championship winnings with Sebastien Loeb, the 41-year-old Ogier declared, “What a season, that’s for sure, what a fight with Elfyn and Scott honestly.”

Ogier and Evans had previously criticized Saudi Arabia’s current circumstances, calling the new rally added for 2025 “a lottery,” along with many other drivers.

When Martins Sesks’ predecessor, Takamoto Katsuta, rolled in soft sand, and Kalle Rovanpera was forced to stop and change a wheel, the treacherous nature was never more obvious.

The resultant change in the leaderboard caused Vincent Landais and Ogier to gain for the first time in the championship race ahead of Evans, who had previously won Neuville’s first rally of the year.

Up until stage 16, there was hardly ever more than one point between the pair because the virtual championship leaderboard flipped one way and the other, despite the Welsh driver’s season-ending rally.

Evans has now lost the title to Ogier on three occasions, including in 2020 when he once again held a championship lead in the final round at Monza before colliding with him on treacherous snow-covered roads.

He must wait another year before becoming the only British WRC winner after Colin McRae (1995) and Richard Burns (2001), who finished second behind Neuville (2024) and Rovanpera (2023).

Josh McErlean, an Irishman, placed ninth overall in the 17-stage competition to close out his first full-time WRC season.

1. Hyundai, 3 hours 21 minutes, 17.3 seconds, Thierry Neuville (Belgium).

2. Hyundai, + 54.7 seconds, Arden Fourmaux (France),

3. Sebastien Ogier (France), Toyota, + 1min 03.3secs

4. Sami Pajari (Finland), Toyota, + 1min 51.7secs

5. Takamoto Katsuta (Japan), Toyota, + 1min 59.9secs

6. Toyota’s Elfyn Evans (Great Britain), + 3 minutes 40 seconds

7. Toyota, Finland’s Kare Rovanpera, + 5 minutes 31. 5 secs

8. Ford + 7min 07.2secs Gregoire Munster (Luxembourg), +

9. Josh McErlean (Ireland), Ford, + 8min 30.5secs

10. Oliver Solberg (Sweden), Toyota, + 10min 00.46ecs

11. Ott Tanak (Estonia), Hyundai, + 11min 04.4sec

12. Skoda, GUSS GreenSTONE, 10 min. 47.3 sec.

1. Toyota, Sebastien Ogier (France), 293 points

2. Toyota’s Elfyn Evans (Great Britain), 289 points

3. Toyota, 256, Kolle Rovanpera (Finland).

4. Ott Tanak (Estonia), Hyundai, 216

5. Hyundai, 194 Thierry Neuville (Belgium).

6. Toyota, 122, Toyota Katsuta (Japan).

Selected

11. Ford, Ireland, Josh McErlean, 28

With Sweden defeating Rebecca Morrison’s rink 7-5 in the final, Scotland lost to them in the race for gold at the European Curling Championships.

Team Morrison, who won four of their first six matches in Finland before losing four of them in the semi-final against Switzerland, set up the game against Anna Hasselborg’s rink. Last year, Team Morrison won bronze medals and placed second in the competition.

In the fifth and seventh ends, the Swedes took command with twos after Scotland had already defeated them in the round-robin final.

Morrison, Jen Dodds, Sophie Sinclair, and Sophie Jackson only managed one of the three three extra ends, so they all had to settle for silver.