WRC 2026 result after Round 4: Croatia Rally

Toyota Gazoo Racing continued its 2026 FIA World Rally Championship campaign with its fourth victory in as many rounds. Japanese driver Takamoto Katsuta achieved his second successive victory and seized the overall lead in the standings after a dramatic last-minute twist in the Croatia Rally. How did this WRC 2026 result play out? Read on as we review each day’s activities.

WRC 2026 result: Croatia Rally

Round four marked the start of a busy period for all WRC crews – three rallies over the space of five weeks, with Croatia being the first of three asphalt events across the next two months. Croatia returned to the WRC calendar after a gap year, and the country’s stages provide a challenging mix of surfaces and constantly changing grip levels. The routes are twisty and technical, intersperced with fast, flowing sections that include jumps and crests.

Toyota has enjoyed a strong record in Croatia, having won all four of the previous editions. However, since the rally base moved from the capital Zagreb to the coastal city of Rijeka, all but three of the stages were new and unfamiliar. Which, as the crews soon found out, brought particular challenges.

Day 1

The opening leg consisted of four all-new stages on the Istrian peninsula, each run twice. Championship leader Elfyn Evans made a strong start in his GR Yaris Rally1, winning the first two stages to open a lead of almost 16 seconds over team-mate Sami Pajari. A bright start was also made by Oliver Solberg but three miles in, his limited experience on hard compound tyres led to an over-enthusiastic entry into a corner. He ran wide, hit a bank and spun the car across the road, immediately halting his efforts for the day. Evans also suffered an off-road incident, this time on stage three, which brought his day to an early close.

Pajari (above) therefore took over the lead, and extended his advantage by winning the final stage of the morning as well as the opening test of the afternoon. His margin slimmed in the following two stages, until he responded with a stunning win in the day’s final test. This increased the Finn’s advantage to 13.7 seconds as he basked in the joy of leading a WRC round overnight for the first time in his career. Meanwhile, fresh from his maiden victory in Safari Rally Kenya last month, Takamoto Katsuta produced a strong, consistent day and finished in third overall.

WRC 2026 result: Day 2

The second day took crews inland for a series of four tests that were repeated in reverse order during the afternoon. Due to the soft-edged nature of their construction, the stages became more treacherous as the gravel and dirt that lined the routes was pulled on to the roads.

Pajari continued to drive well and kept control of his advantage, which stood at almost 13 seconds after stage 13. Cruelly, however, he was forced to concede almost two minutes in stage 14 after stopping to change a punctured wheel. Third-placed Katsuta (above) also experienced a puncture in his front-left tyre but minimised his loss to 90 seconds. They were not the only drivers to suffer through this demanding stage, so the position changes were minimal – Katsuta actually moved up into second by the end of the day and Pajari concluded in third position overall.

Encouragingly, both Solberg and Evans were able to restart the rally. Solberg (above) won six of the day’s eight stages, while Evans was regularly in the top two and won the day’s final stage. Nevertheless, there was still a long way to go, and their best chance of picking up valuable championship points would now come from the rally-ending Power Stage and Super Sunday classification.

Day 3

The constant sprinkling of gravel and dirt across the asphalt had turned the normally grippy surface stages into something resembling an ice rink. Many individuals had been caught out by this early in the weekend, to the point where only three top-level Rally1 crews remained within the overall top ten. Among these survivors were Katsuta and Pajari, who were on course at the beginning of day three to secure second and third place respectively. That was until the rally leader sustained damage on the rally-ending Power Stage and was forced to retire – a truly frustrating turn of events for that crew.

Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston (below) therefore claimed victory, just four weeks after achieving their maiden win in the Safari Rally Kenya. As a result, Katsuta now leads the drivers’ championship for the first time in his career and becomes the first Japanese driver to ever head the standings. Pajari and co-driver Marko Salminen were similarly promoted and finished second overall. The Finnish driver joined Katsuta on the podium for the third event in succession and complete a satisfying one-two finish for Toyota at the end of a highly challenging rally.

WRC 2026 result in Round 4: Croatia Rally

WRC 2026 championship: drivers and co-drivers

WRC 2026 championship: manufacturers

WRC 2026: Where next?

Round five is Rally Islas Canarias, the next asphalt round of the season. The event takes place on the island of Gran Canaria on 23-26 April and consists of mountainous stages with abrasive, high-grip surfaces made partly of volcanic lava.

Learn more: How did last year’s WRC end for Toyota?