Sami Pajari claimed an emotional home victory at Rally Finland, securing back-to-back FIA World Rally Championship wins and leading TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team to a clean sweep of the podium.
The 24-year-old Finn, followed up his maiden WRC victory in Estonia two weeks ago by mastering the demanding Finnish stages to win by 26.7 seconds. The triumph marked the 200th WRC victory by a Finnish driver and came during the 75th anniversary edition of Rally Finland.
“It feels simply amazing to win Rally Finland,” Pajari said.
“It’s another dream result for us. It was already a big thing to take the first win in Estonia but to win at home is always something special.
“Winning at home hasn’t always been easy for Finnish drivers but somehow after a crazy rally we have managed to make it happen.
“This one was tougher and more intense than Estonia; it was a really close fight with Seb and Elfyn and we were setting very similar times for most of the rally. To be a winner of the ‘1000 Lakes’ is incredible. Marko and I grew up watching legendary drivers win this rally and now we are on top of the podium too; it’s crazy. Big thanks to the team and the fans for all their support.”
Pajari entered Sunday’s final leg with a 46.4-second advantage after inheriting the lead late on Saturday when Sébastien Ogier crashed out of the rally. Opting for a measured approach across two passes of the 30.02-kilometre Himos-Jämsa stage, the Finn safely guided his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 to a memorable home victory.
Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson completed another impressive weekend to finish second for the second consecutive rally. Despite losing significant time in Friday’s heavy rain and battling back pain after a heavy landing, Solberg topped the Super Sunday classification before narrowly missing out on the Power Stage victory by just 0.025 seconds.
Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin recovered from a dramatic roll on Saturday morning to complete Toyota’s podium lockout in third. After the team repaired the damaged car during Saturday service, Evans charged back through the field, finishing second on Super Sunday before claiming maximum Power Stage points. The Welshman extended his championship lead to 30 points over Pajari.
“I’m happy to finish on the podium but I owe this one to the team who fixed the car in service yesterday after my mistake,” Evans said.
“Super Sunday was fast-paced as usual on what was a very quick stage. I maybe wasn’t brave enough on the first pass and tried to do more on the second pass; the grip was much higher and I maybe didn’t use it all but I’m happy with the points we could take away.
“Congratulations to Sami and Marko; I know how special it feels to win your home rally. There was not a lot between them, us, and Seb and Julien – who I wish a speedy recovery – but they were the ones who didn’t falter and very much deserve this win.”
Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia had looked on course for victory after leading from Friday morning until their heavy crash on Saturday afternoon. The pair were kept under observation in hospital overnight before being discharged on Sunday morning.
“This was not the way that we wanted to end this weekend especially after everything was going so well,” Ogier said.
“But the most important thing is that we are both OK, so a big thank you to the team for building such a strong car. I also need to thank Julien for taking good care of me immediately after the impact and reassuring my family I am well.
“We will take some rest now and make sure we are back to full strength soon and thank you for all the messages we received. Congratulations to Sami and Marko for another victory and all the team for locking out the podium at home once again.”
Takamoto Katsuta recovered to finish sixth despite making contact with a tree on the rally’s final stage after running wide while trying to avoid a rock. The result leaves him third in the championship, 41 points behind Evans.
Toyota deputy team principal Juha Kankkunen praised the team’s resilience after an action-packed weekend.
“We can be very happy with how this rally ended for us, with our crews on all three steps of the podium again here at home in Finland,” Kankkunen said.
“I’ve been coming to this rally for over 40 years and I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen so much action happening. There was a lot for the fans to follow, and a few heart-in-mouth moments for us, but it’s a good result for us at the end.
“Sami drove a fantastic rally once again and it makes me proud to see another Finnish winner of Rally Finland. While his focus today was on securing the win, both Oliver and Elfyn were able to be very fast and score good points. We’re glad that Seb and Julien are OK and already back home, and we wish them a good recovery.”
Away from the Rally1 battle, team principal Jari-Matti Latvala enjoyed a memorable return to competition by finishing eighth overall and winning his class in a GR Yaris Rally2 alongside Juho Hänninen. Teemu Suninen and Janni Hussi also secured second place in WRC2, while TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Jaspar Vaher finished fourth in class.
The result extended TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team’s manufacturers’ championship lead to 174 points, while Evans now heads the drivers’ standings on 201 points ahead of Pajari on 171 and Katsuta on 160.
Top 10 – Rally Finland
- Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)
- Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +26.7s
- Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m19.5s
- Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m35.9s
- Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +3m52.5s
- Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +4m18.2s
- Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +4m32.7s
- Jari-Matti Latvala/Juho Hänninen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +8m25.5s
- Robert Virves/Jakko Viilo (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +8m46.9s
- Teemu Suninen/Janni Hussi (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +9m03.0s
The FIA World Rally Championship continues with Rally del Paraguay from August 27–30, where fast red clay roads around Encarnación will provide a fresh challenge for the championship contenders.
