Sami Pajari Stays Ahead as Neuville Battles Shoe Issue

Sami Pajari retained the Rally Estonia lead after setting another fastest time on SS3 Kanepi and extending his advantage to 4.1 seconds.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT driver produced the strongest pace across the 17.43-kilometre stage, securing his third stage win on Friday after previously leading SS1 and SS2.

Grip again improved as more cars passed through the stage. Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta, running near the front of the road order, suffered the largest losses on the loose gravel surface.

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“It feels really good and I’m enjoying the driving. It’s a fantastic stage and it’s great fun to drive a car like this in these conditions,” Pajari said.

Oliver Solberg remained second overall but conceded another 1.2 seconds to Pajari. He admitted he had still not found the confidence or car behaviour required to match his team-mate’s pace.

Thierry Neuville encountered an unusual problem after the soles of his driving shoes picked up hot asphalt before the stage. The sticky surface caused his shoes to catch on the pedals and reduced the feeling through his feet.

Esapekka Lappi also remained without an answer to his pace deficit. Despite feeling that the car was working reasonably well, he finished 9.7 seconds off the fastest time and dropped to eighth overall, 26.7 seconds behind.

Pajari leads after three of the rally’s 18 stages, ahead of Solberg and Adrien Fourmaux. Four stages remain on Friday, beginning with the second Raanitsa run before Karaski, Kanepi and Elva Linn complete the opening day.