In Rome: Former world champion Ott Tänak makes a minor rally comeback in a Toyota

For Toyota, this involvement also has a forward-looking significance. Next year, the Rally di Roma Capitale is set to replace the Rally Sardinia as the Italian round of the World Rally Championship. This will allow Toyota to use the rally to gather data from the tarmac stages around Rome.

Tänak took a break from his active WRC career after the 2025 season, in which he had still been competing for Hyundai. However, the Estonian had not withdrawn from rallying entirely. Together with Järveoja, he is helping Toyota develop next year’s rally car, which must be built in accordance with new technical regulations.

Toyota explained their participation: “At the Rally di Roma Capitale, our GR Yaris Rally2 test car, driven by Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja, will be used as a lead car. They will drive through the stages ahead of the main field, outside the competition classification, and help our team gather insights into the tarmac event.”

The Rally di Roma will take place from 3 to 5 July 2026 in the Italian capital and the Lazio region.

This round of the European Rally Championship breaks all previous records with a record number of 126 teams. The event serves as an official selection round for inclusion in next year’s World Rally Championship calendar.

The 14th edition of the Rally di Roma Capitale gets underway with the traditional parade on 3 July in Rome’s historic city centre. This is immediately followed by the now famous Colosseo – ACI Roma special stage at the Colosseum. In ancient times, gladiators fought their battles here in the Flavian Amphitheatre.

The rally’s centre, comprising the service park and the press centre, has moved to the EUR district (including the Salone delle Fontane and the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana). There will also be a large fan zone there featuring go-kart tracks and event areas.

The special stages on Saturday and Sunday have been significantly revised compared with previous years and, in 2026, will focus primarily on tarmac mountain roads in the Rieti region (including Vallecupola and Piana di Rascino). Rieti is situated in the north-east of the Lazio region in central Italy and is historically known as the Sabina region.

The already high level of interest in the event in previous years will be further boosted in 2026 from a sporting perspective, as the unprecedented entry list brings together the leading drivers from the European Rally Championship with those competing in the Italian Championship.

Thanks to the support of the Lazio region, Roma Capitale and the Ministry of Sport and Youth, as well as collaboration with the Automobile Club d’Italia and other local authorities and partners, the event will mark another milestone in terms of sport and marketing, with significant regional value.

The entry list comprises 46 Rally2 cars, featuring the top stars of both the Italian and European championships. All the major brands will be on the starting grid, including Citroën, Hyundai, Lancia, Škoda and Toyota.

No fewer than seven Lancia Ypsilon HF Integrale Rally2 cars will be on the starting grid for this home race.

Prominent names in the field include Yohan Rossel and Nikolay Gryazin, who are competing for Lancia Corse HF. Yoann Bonato will also be driving a Lancia, bringing a wealth of experience on tarmac to the event.

From an Italian perspective, the field is also strongly represented. Defending champion Giandomenico Basso returns with Lorenzo Granai in a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2. Andrea Mabellini and Virginia Lenzi will be competing in the Lancia Ypsilon HF Integrale Rally2, whilst Roberto Daprà and Luca Guglielmetti will be in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. Andrea Crugnola, already a two-time winner of the Rally di Roma Capitale, will also be competing in a Lancia alongside Luca Beltrame.

Teemu Suninen will start the race in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 with start number 1. The Finn is the highest-placed competitor in the championship amongst those competing in the full ERC programme. Other contenders include European Champion Miko Marczyk, the Czech tarmac specialist Dominik Stritesky, Simone Tempestini and Jakub Matulka.

A former Formula 1 driver is also taking part: Heikki Kovalainen, winner of the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix in a McLaren, is competing in the full Italian championship this year in a Citroën C3 Rally2 and will be starting in Rome with co-driver Patric Ohman.

Together with the entrants in the other classes, including the manufacturers’ cups, representatives from 29 nations will be on the starting grid.