The FIA World Rally Championship is gearing up for its maiden visit to Saudi Arabia which will host what is expected to be a thrilling season finale with Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, Sebastien Ogier and Kalle Rovanpera all vying for the world title.
Rally Saudi Arabia will be all about adaptation. Crews will face wide, flowing gravel roads with sweeping turns and blind crests, but also rougher, more technical sections where precision and tyre management become vital.
High speeds increase the risk, and the abrasive nature of some sections can punish aggressive driving with tyre damage or suspension wear.
Evans tops the standings on 272 points after scoring on every rally so far. Ogier sits on 269 with six wins from 10 starts, while Rovanperä holds 248 thanks to three victories of his own but also carries the damage from a Safari retirement and a low-scoring Acropolis.
All three have taken very different routes to Jeddah, and Saudi’s brand-new desert stages will decide which approach pays off.
Across 13 rounds Evans has two wins, seven podiums and no retirements. That consistency is why he still leads a championship in which one of his rivals has won almost half the rallies.
Six wins, nine podiums and only one major error make Ogier the form man heading into the finale – and his victory tally gives him the tie-break advantage if the points end level.
Rovanperä’s route to Saudi has been more volatile. The Finn has three wins, several podiums and some of the most impressive pace of the season, but also carries the weight of a Safari retirement and a disastrous Acropolis.
Three wins, strong speed on both asphalt and gravel, but two heavy-scoring weekends mean Rovanperä starts Saudi 24 points off the lead and needing a big swing to claim a third world title before he retires at the end of the season.
The permutations are simple. Evans is guaranteed to become world champion if he drops no more than two points to Ogier on the final round. Ogier must outscore Evans by at least three – and with six wins to Evans’ two, he will take the title if they end tied on points.
Rovanperä needs a near-maximum haul and misfortune for both team-mates to vault from third to first.
