Elfyn Evans leads the field into a revamped Croatia Rally this week as the FIA World Rally Championship returns to asphalt for round four of the 2026 season.
The event is back on the calendar after a one-year absence, but arrives in significantly different form. The rally has shifted its base from Zagreb to Rijeka and the Grobnik Circuit, a venue with strong motorsport heritage as the former home of the Yugoslavian Grand Prix from 1978 to 1990. More than 75 per cent of the route is new compared to the last WRC edition in 2024, with stages climbing from the Adriatic coast to more than 1200 metres above sea level.
Evans arrives in Croatia at the top of the drivers’ championship on 66 points, eight clear of Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mate Oliver Solberg, with Safari Rally Kenya winner Takamoto Katsuta a further three points adrift. Toyota also leads the manufacturers’ standings on 157 points, ahead of Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT on 114.
Evans confident despite Kenya blow
The Welshman has strong form at Croatia, having won the event in 2023 and finished runner-up by just 0.6 seconds on its inaugural WRC running in 2021. Despite suffering his first retirement in 19 starts in Kenya, Evans salvaged six points on Super Sunday and retained his championship lead.
“Croatia has been a good rally for us in the past so it’s nice to be going back there,” said Evans. “It’s always been a rally with a lot of surface changes and with that a lot of grip changes, but there are more unknowns this year with the event moving towards the coast. We will have to see what the new stages are like when we get there, and write plenty of new pacenotes during the recce.”
Evans also acknowledged the challenge of back-to-back asphalt rounds, with preparations for Rally Islas Canarias already under way.
“In our test we had quite wet and muddy conditions, which could be representative of what we’ll face in the rally, but we were also having to think ahead towards the Canaries with some parts linked between the two rallies,” he said. “Like always, we aim to fight for the best result possible.”
Toyota strength in depth
Solberg remains firmly in contention after showing strong pace in Kenya before alternator failure ended his rally, while Katsuta heads to Croatia full of confidence on the back of his breakthrough maiden WRC victory. The Japanese driver has finished inside the top six on every WRC edition of Croatia Rally and has four stage wins at the event.
Toyota’s line-up is further strengthened by Sami Pajari, who arrives on the back of consecutive podium finishes.
Adrien Fourmaux pushes the Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT i20 N Rally1 through the crowds on the Croatian stages. The Frenchman leads Hyundai’s charge after scoring the team’s first podium of the season in Kenya.
Image: Red Bull Content Pool
Hyundai and M-Sport complete the field
Hyundai’s challenge is led by Adrien Fourmaux, who scored both his and the team’s first podium of the season in Kenya, while Thierry Neuville returns to an event that has repeatedly eluded him despite several strong showings. Hayden Paddon joins Hyundai for his second start of the season and will make his Croatia Rally debut.
M-Sport Ford fields Jon Armstrong and Josh McErlean. Armstrong returns to the country where he won last year’s FIA European Rally Championship finale, though none of those stages feature on this year’s route. McErlean faces Croatia for the first time.
Route and schedule
Crews will tackle 20 stages covering 300 kilometres across the Istria, Karlovac and Primorje-Gorski Kotar regions. Friday’s action is based in Istria, Saturday includes a remote service in Karlovac, and Sunday heads to the Adriatic coast on a final leg that concludes with the brand-new Alan – Senj Wolf Power Stage.
Search Auto Action
