Elfyn Evans kicks off 2027 preparations with first test as World Champion

Just four days after securing the 2026 World Rally Championship title, Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin were straight back on track to kickstart preparations for defending their crown in 2027.

Despite their championship triumph in Sardinia last weekend, Toyota wasted no time resuming development on their 2027 test car built to the new WRC27 regulations. Following Kalle Rovanperä's tarmac running in Spain last week, the squad shifted operations to the gravel stages of Portugal.

Evans was the third driver to get behind the wheel this week, following outings for Sami Pajari on Tuesday and Takamoto Katsuta on Wednesday. Oliver Solberg is scheduled to test next year's Rally1-spec machine over the weekend, while Sébastien Ogier will not log any mileage during this current test block.

Toyota technical director Tom Fowler flew back from Sardinia on Sunday evening and was already on site at the team's Finnish headquarters by Monday morning.

"There's a lot of work to do before next season," Fowler told DirtFish. "Not having another rally to go to because of the cancelled final round in Saudi Arabia makes things a bit simpler logistically, but the test program carries on. As you can imagine, every time the car runs, there's more data and more to discuss. It's great to have Elfyn and Scott back in the car — we even put the number one on the door just for him…"

Toyota's brand-new challenger, which is yet to be officially named, is now nearing its final homologation spec. Full and finalized details regarding the car and the team's future programs are expected early next month.