RALLY FINLAND 2026: SAMI PAJARI CLAIMS EMOTIONAL HOME VICTORY

Sami Pajari Rally Finland 2026: Sami Pajari driving the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 during his home victory at Rally Finland.

TOYOTA DRIVER COMPLETES BACK-TO-BACK WRC WINS IN ESTONIA AND FINLAND AS TOYOTA SECURES A COMMANDING ONE-TWO-THREE

Sami Pajari and co-driver Marko Salminen secured an emotional Rally Finland 2026 victory on Sunday, completing a remarkable back-to-back WRC double just two weeks after their breakthrough win in Estonia.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 crew entered the final day with a 46.4-second advantage and controlled their pace through two passes of the 30.02-kilometre Himos–Jämsä stage. Pajari eventually won Rally Finland by 26.7 seconds over Toyota team-mate Oliver Solberg.

Pajari finished fifth on the rally-ending Wolf Power Stage before celebrating at the finish with Finnish rallying legend Ari Vatanen.

“It was a big thing to take the win in Estonia, but a home win is always something special.”

“A big thanks, first of all, to the team, but also to all the fans for all the support. It’s simply amazing.”

A HISTORIC FINNISH WRC DOUBLE

Pajari’s victory carried major historical significance. After taking Finland’s 199th WRC victory with his maiden win in Estonia, the Rally Finland result delivered the 200th WRC victory for a Finnish driver.

He also became the 14th different Finnish driver to win Rally Finland during the WRC era.

The result marked the first time a Finnish driver had won consecutive WRC rounds since Kalle Rovanperä won in Poland and Latvia in 2024.

Following Rovanperä’s Rally Finland victory in 2025, Pajari also became part of consecutive Finnish home winners in the event for the first time since Jari-Matti Latvala won in 2014 and 2015.

Key Points:

• Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen won Rally Finland 2026.

• Pajari completed consecutive WRC victories in Estonia and Finland.

• Oliver Solberg finished second, 26.7 seconds behind Pajari.

• Elfyn Evans completed the Toyota podium in third.

• Pajari’s victory was the 200th WRC win for a Finnish driver.

• Pajari became the 14th different Finnish WRC-era winner of Rally Finland.

• Toyota secured a one-two-three finish.

• Toyota recorded its eighth Rally Finland victory in the last nine editions.

• Toyota’s 11th WRC-era Rally Finland win moved it ahead of Ford as the event’s most successful manufacturer.

• Sébastien Ogier retired from the lead after a heavy crash on Västilä.

• Evans recovered from his own Saturday roll to finish third.

• Evans won the Wolf Power Stage and extended his championship lead to 30 points.

• Adrien Fourmaux finished fourth for Hyundai.

• Thierry Neuville finished fifth after Takamoto Katsuta went off on the Wolf Power Stage.

• Katsuta recovered to sixth with heavy front-end damage.

• Josh McErlean finished seventh for M-Sport.

• Jari-Matti Latvala finished eighth overall and won RC2.

• Robert Virves secured his fourth WRC2 victory from four starts this season.

TOYOTA DOMINATES THE FINNISH PODIUM

Toyota completed a commanding one-two-three, with Pajari leading Solberg and Evans.

The result gave Toyota its eighth Rally Finland victory from the last nine editions. Its 11th WRC-era win at the event also moved the Japanese manufacturer ahead of Ford as the most successful manufacturer on Rally Finland.

Pajari inherited the lead on Saturday afternoon after long-time leader Sébastien Ogier crashed heavily on Västilä. Ogier and stand-in co-driver Julien Ingrassia exited their Toyota unaided and underwent precautionary hospital examinations, with the results reported as positive.

SOLBERG AND EVANS COMPLETE THE PODIUM

Solberg demonstrated strong pace on Sunday, winning the opening pass and topping the Super Sunday classification despite suffering severe back pain after a heavy landing.

After receiving pain relief before the final stage, Solberg still matched Elfyn Evans’ time on the Wolf Power Stage to within thousandths of a second.

Evans, meanwhile, recovered from a dramatic Saturday roll. Spectators helped return his damaged GR Yaris Rally1 to the road before Toyota mechanics carried out extensive repairs during midday service.

The championship leader rewarded the team’s efforts by winning the Wolf Power Stage by 0.025 seconds over Solberg.

“It was a surreal set of circumstances. More than anything, we owe thanks to the guys who fixed the car yesterday lunchtime. We always know we can depend on those guys.”

Evans finished 1 minute 19.5 seconds behind Pajari and increased his championship advantage to 30 points over his Finnish team-mate.

FOURMOAUX FOURTH AS KATSUTA DROPS TO SIXTH

Adrien Fourmaux finished fourth for Hyundai after Friday’s torrential rain disrupted his early victory challenge. He pushed throughout Sunday but ended 16.4 seconds behind Evans.

Thierry Neuville moved into fifth after Takamoto Katsuta went off on the Wolf Power Stage. Katsuta reached the finish with heavy front-end damage after hitting a tree and dropped to sixth.

Josh McErlean brought his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 home in seventh, while Jari-Matti Latvala completed the overall top eight and won the RC2 class.

Robert Virves secured his fourth WRC2 victory from four starts this season after overnight leader Teemu Suninen received a 30-second penalty.

CHAMPIONSHIP MOVES TO PARAGUAY

The FIA World Rally Championship now takes a short break before returning for round 11 at WRC ueno Rally del Paraguay from August 27 to 30.