Sami Pajari opened Friday afternoon’s loop at WRC Finland 2026 on July 31, 2026, with victory on SS6 Laukaa, cutting the gap to rally leader Sebastien Ogier.
The Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT driver was fastest on the second pass through Laukaa, beating Oliver Solberg by 0.4 seconds and Ogier by 2.6 seconds. The result lifted Pajari into second overall.
“It’s quite strange because it felt like I was really slow. Maybe it’s because this is such a flat-out stage that you always want a bit more power from the car,” Pajari said.
Ogier retained the overall lead, but his advantage was reduced to 5.4 seconds. He admitted there was little more he could do on the stage and pointed to Pajari running a different car setup.
Adrien Fourmaux conceded 3.1 seconds to Pajari on Laukaa and dropped to third overall. However, the Hyundai driver remains only 0.4 seconds behind Pajari, keeping the fight for second extremely close.
Solberg holds fourth overall, 9.6 seconds behind Ogier, while Elfyn Evans sits fifth. Takamoto Katsuta occupies sixth, followed by Martins Sesks and Josh McErlean.
In WRC2, Teemu Suninen moved ahead of Roope Korhonen by 2.6 seconds, with Robert Virves still close behind the leading pair.
WRC Finland 2026 still has four special stages remaining on Friday, with Pajari now firmly back in the victory fight after reducing Ogier’s advantage.
Read Also
Sebastien Ogier leads WRC Finland 2026 after winning three of Friday morning’s four stages and opening a 5.3-second gap over Adrien Fourmaux.
WRC Finland 2026 SS1-SS5 results recap: Sebastien Ogier leads after five stages ahead of Adrien Fourmaux and Sami Pajari.
Esapekka Lappi has been ruled out of WRC Finland 2026 after rollcage damage, while Hyundai also lost time through Thierry Neuville.
Continue with Google
Discussion (0)
Join the Discussion!
Sign in easily to start commenting, replying, and interacting with other readers.
Latest Comments
No comments yet. Be the first!