They say you learn more from defeat than victory, but from either side of the coin Elfyn Evans and Oliver Solberg have lessons to glean from their Rally Italy Sardinia showdown last week.
That’s according to Toyota technical director Tom Fowler, who spoke to David Evans on an exclusive podcast to Club DirtFish members less than 24 hours after the World Rally Championship title was decided.
Fowler talked about the differing strategies set out for eventual champion Evans and the pursuing Solberg, as well as the moment he first realized Evans had the potential to become a world champion, but had some especially intriguing insight regarding the lessons both drivers can take from Sardinia.
“Well, I think looking back on this final event, it’s very difficult to say what Elfyn could have done [differently] because his road position was such a big challenge,” Fowler said.
“I think he wouldn’t deny that he probably should have taken Sardinia a bit more by the scruff of the neck from the start and risked a little bit more to come with a better road position for Saturday and to lose a bit less time than he did.
“Difficult to say now because of course in the end it worked out, but I think had Oliver stayed on the road he would have lost it by not risking more at the beginning of the event.
“So I think that’s a lesson that he could take away.”
Fowler believes the powerstage showdown was a metaphor for how the entire 2026 season went, particularly for Solberg.
“For Oliver, I think the lesson is clear,” he added.
“The powerstage was Oliver’s season played out over five minutes. so there’s no point to go and make a summary of his season because if he just looks at the powerstage, everything’s there.
Fowler feels the Sardinia powerstage was a metaphor of Solberg's 2026: fast, but error-prone
“He was incredibly quick. He was incredibly motivated, loads of positives, but also too many mistakes, which in the end cost him the world championship effectively.
“It’s harsh to say it like that because of course the whole season puts together where you end up on the last day of the season, but I think speed is absolutely no problem for Oliver.
“But we have to find a way to take away some of the mistakes.”
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