It feels early to wave goodbye to an era, but the way the World Rally Championship calendar is structured this year means that’s exactly what we are doing.
The current Rally1 cars still have seven events left in their life cycle, but they’ll all be on gravel.
Drivers and fans alike will never experience these beasts in their lowest, raciest, most aggressive form again.
DirtFish asked the drivers for their favorite memories of the Rally1 cars on Tarmac as that chapter of the story comes to a close.
Sébastien Ogier
No driver won as many Tarmac rounds in a Rally1 car as Ogier, with his six victories two clear of Elfyn Evans and three ahead of both Thierry Neuville and Kalle Rovanperä.
“It’s a bit emotional for sure for us to think that it’s the last one on Tarmac because this car has felt so good to drive on this surface recently,” said nine-time world champion Ogier.
“I mean all the time, but even more recently it feels really good in the cockpit. Of course, if you ask us, we would like more, but you know, that’s things which happen in life. Good things have to end.”
Asked for a particularly memory, Ogier revealed he had a soft spot for a recent fight: “I think we had many great moments with this car, but I think here [in Japan] last year or six months ago with Elfyn [Evans], we had a pretty decent battle, we were pretty close the whole weekend, the last day was turning to very challenging weather and we were fighting even closer, ending up with a powerstage with one tenth difference.
“So I think that was a cool moment, a cool battle we had, obviously even more for me because it went my way. But yeah all together with the team, I think we can be proud of the job done on the development of this car on Tarmac.
“There is always a bit of emotion, but I had many great cars in my career,” Ogier added. “[The] ‘17 generation, the last Yaris we drove, but not only the Yaris but the Fiesta as well – it’s been amazing driving those cars on any surface and especially on Tarmac.
“Of course now there will be, of what it looks, a huge step back next year, but I’m very confident that engineers are going to work and it’s going to progress again and hopefully become as soon as possible spectacular for the fans.”
Thierry Neuville
Thierry Neuville is one of three drivers (so far) to win a world title in a Rally1 car, but says the era for Hyundai specifically must be split into two parts.
“I mean, we can split basically the Rally1 era in two,” he said. “We had three years of speed and the ’24 was great. I mean, Tarmac events, super fast and capable of winning Tarmac events.
“Since last year, we are nowhere. So that has been very disappointing, I mean especially one of my favorite surfaces. But it is like this. Not much joy at the moment on Tarmac, but hopefully more joy for the rest of the Rally1 era on gravel.”
Pressed for a standout event or memory, Neuville said: “I won Monte Carlo in ‘24. We finished on the podium also in Monte Carlo with that car. So… great [memories, but] I don’t remember all the other rallies!”
Adrien Fourmaux
Adrien Fourmaux was a particular fan of the hybrid era of Rally1, which ran from 2022-24. In the final two years, the cars didn’t benefit from hybrid assistance.
“It’s a shame [we won’t drive these cars on Tarmac anymore],” Fourmaux said.
“To be fair, I have to say the best time was in 2022 until 2024, when we had the hybrid on Tarmac, it was just unbelievable. The speed we had on the acceleration… I think we are quite close on time now because the motorsport always improves. But the power that we had and how we had to manage it was just fantastic.
“So to be fair, the hybrid era on Tarmac was very something special.”
Takamoto Katsuta
Takamoto Katsuta is one of eight drivers to win a Tarmac rally in a Rally1 car, but didn’t select his victory (Croatia 2026) as his highlight.
“I think 2023 in Japan [is my best memory],” said the Toyota driver. “OK, I went off on stage two, but then I was fastest after that on many stages.
“So, yeah, this one I had a good feeling and good memory.”
Oliver Solberg
Oliver Solberg also won one Tarmac rally in a Rally1 car, although this year’s Monte Carlo Rally was more like a winter rally!
The 24-year-old only started seven events on asphalt (three for Hyundai in 2022 and four for Toyota in 2026).
“Well, I haven’t done many with this car on Tarmac, but I will miss it very much. Definitely,” he said. “It is very sad.”
Elfyn Evans
Elfyn Evans has won three Rally Japans and a Croatia Rally in a GR Yaris Rally1. The Welshman is sure drivers won’t have as much pleasure in the future.
“Obviously we’ve enjoyed many, many years now of great cars on Tarmac and, of course, what we’re coming to next maybe won’t be quite as exciting,” he said. “So it’s important to enjoy it.”
Sami Pajari
Sami Pajari claimed podiums at four Tarmac events in a Rally1 car, but above all feels fortunate to have driven such a capable car on a sealed surface.
“I’ve been super, super lucky and happy that I have the chance to drive these cars on Tarmac,” the Finn remarked. “And recently we got quite a few podiums as well on the Tarmac with this car.
“Anyway, it will be good memories from these machines. But yeah, I believe it simply will be unfortunate that… it’s a little bit sad to think about it, that this is really the last time on Tarmac for these cars.”
Josh McErlean
Josh McErlean made his WRC debut in a Rally1 car at Monte Carlo, which proved a baptism of fire. Tarmac has proved his weaker surface, but he’s enjoyed the challenge nonetheless.
“It’s honestly got better and better,” said McErlean. “Obviously, it’s quite a daunting experience to jump into one of these cars with full aero and everything that comes with that, it’s quite a monster on Tarmac.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t experience the hybrid. I’m sure many of these guys have good memories of that there, but honestly, it’s been a crazy experience to jump into this here, especially on the rallies that you’re doing. They’re not average Tarmac rallies – Japan, Monte Carlo, Canaries.
“They’re all quite unique in themselves. It’s honestly fantastic. Last Tarmac and not so many gravel left either, so we have to keep on enjoying it.”
