Sami Pajari claimed his second straight WRC victory as Toyota swept the Rally Finland podium with Oliver Solberg and Elfyn Evans.
Sami Pajari won the 2026 Rally Finland in Jyväskylä, completing a Toyota podium sweep after Sébastien Ogier crashed out of the lead late Saturday. Pajari and co-driver Marko Salminen recorded a winning time of 2h27m58.0s, finishing 26.7 seconds ahead of Oliver Solberg and 1m19.5s clear of championship leader Elfyn Evans.
Ogier’s exit changed the rally
Ogier and Vincent Landais controlled the first two days in their Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, while Pajari followed behind. The rally changed on SS17 at Leustu when Ogier left the road and retired from first place.
Pajari took over the lead and ended Saturday 46.4 seconds ahead of Solberg. Evans trailed by 1m36.3s following an incident of his own.
Evans recovered from a roll
Evans rolled his GR Yaris Rally1 on Saturday morning’s run through Leustu, costing him almost two minutes and ending his bid for victory.
He carried on, climbed back to third before the leg finished, and defended the final podium spot on Sunday. None of the three leading crews received a time penalty.
Pajari protected his advantage
After Ogier’s retirement, Pajari focused on securing the overall victory instead of pursuing every Sunday bonus on offer. Solberg cut into the gap as a result, but the 24-year-old Finn maintained enough speed to win by 26.7 seconds.
Solberg and Elliott Edmondson took the Super Sunday classification in their Toyota, but they couldn't put Pajari under enough pressure to trigger a mistake.
Evans grabbed the Power Stage
Evans completed his recovery with victory on the Wolf Power Stage, beating Pajari by 0.025 seconds. The bonus points turned a costly Saturday into an important championship result.
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 cars occupied all three podium positions. Pajari represented Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2, while Solberg and Evans competed for Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT.
Title fight tightened after round 10
Pajari’s home win came two weeks after his maiden WRC victory in Estonia and marked the 200th World Rally Championship event win for Finnish drivers.
The result lifted Pajari to second in the drivers’ standings, 30 points behind Evans. Four rallies are left, and each round offers as many as 35 points through the overall, Super Sunday and Power Stage scoring structure.
Toyota departed Jyväskylä with a 1-2-3 result and a major manufacturers’ championship points haul. Pajari will enter round 11 on consecutive victories with four events remaining.
