Sami Pajari moved closer to victory at WRC Finland 2026 after completing SS18 Leustu 2 with a 46.4-second advantage over Oliver Solberg heading into Sunday’s final two special stages.
Pajari inherited the lead after Sebastien Ogier crashed on SS17. Toyota said Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia were generally in good condition and underwent further medical checks following the incident.
With a substantial margin now in hand, Pajari has started to shift towards a more controlled approach. “It was a great stage and I was still able to enjoy it. Of course, the whole idea has been to manage the pace. There are still a couple of long stages left tomorrow. Anything can still happen,” Pajari said.
The 46.4-second advantage leaves Pajari in a far stronger position than earlier in the day, when he was still required to push in an attempt to close on Ogier. However, Sunday’s two Himos-Jämsä stages are both around 30 kilometres long, meaning he is not treating the victory as secure yet.
Toyota also holds third place through Elfyn Evans, who trails Pajari by 1 minute 36.3 seconds. Evans continued after his SS14 accident and thanked the team for repairing his car before the afternoon loop.
Adrien Fourmaux sits fourth overall, only 3.8 seconds behind Evans, leaving the battle for third place open heading into the final day. Takamoto Katsuta holds fifth ahead of Thierry Neuville and Josh McErlean.
WRC Finland 2026 now comes down to SS19 Himos-Jämsä 1 and SS20 Himos-Jämsä 2 on Sunday, with the final stage also serving as the Power Stage. Pajari enters the decisive day with his largest margin of the rally but still needs a clean run through both stages to secure victory.
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Sami Pajari leads WRC Finland 2026 after Sebastien Ogier's crash and takes a 46.4-second advantage into Sunday's final two stages.
Sebastien Ogier crashed on SS17 Västilä at WRC Finland 2026 and was forced out of the rally, while Sami Pajari set the fastest stage time.
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