Sami Pajari will take a surprise lead into the final day of Secto Rally Finland after a dramatic Saturday turned the rally on its head. What had appeared to be another commanding performance from Sébastien Ogier quickly descended into chaos as the fast Finnish stages claimed several leading contenders.
Saturday featured eight special stages covering more than 125 kilometres under warm sunshine and dry conditions, creating ideal circumstances for flat-out driving on Finland’s famous gravel roads.
After dominating since the opening day, Ogier looked set to strengthen his grip on the rally, maintaining a comfortable advantage through most of the leg alongside returning co-driver Julien Ingrassia. However, the rally took a dramatic turn on the day’s penultimate stage when the Frenchman crashed heavily at high speed, bringing his challenge to an immediate end. Toyota Gazoo Racing confirmed that both Ogier and Ingrassia exited the car unaided before being taken to hospital for precautionary medical checks.
Even before the rally leader’s retirement, the battle for the remaining podium places had already delivered plenty of excitement. Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, Sami Pajari and Oliver Solberg spent much of the day separated by only small margins as they fought for the top positions.
The decisive moment came on Leustu 1, where Evans rolled his GR Yaris after leaving the road. Although the car landed back on its wheels, it became trapped in a ditch as the Welshman attempted to continue. Spectators quickly came to the crew’s assistance, even his dad, allowing Evans to resume after losing almost two minutes. An impressive recovery over the remaining stages enabled him to limit the damage and end the day third overall.
The same stage also ended the rally of Mārtiņš Sesks, whose Ford Puma was heavily damaged in a high-speed crash. Despite the severity of the accident, both Sesks and his co-driver escaped without injury.
With several frontrunners falling by the wayside, Sami Pajari inherited the overall lead heading into Sunday’s final stages. Oliver Solberg completed a Toyota one-two, while Evans recovered to secure third place. Adrien Fourmaux remained Hyundai’s leading driver in fourth, Takamoto Katsuta held fifth, and Thierry Neuville completed the top six.
After one of the most dramatic days of the 2026 WRC season, everything is now set for an intriguing conclusion as Pajari bids to secure victory on home soil.
Saturday standings
- 1. Sami Pajari — 2:00:38.0
- 2. Oliver Solberg — 2:01:24.4
- 3. Elfyn Evans — 2:02:14.3
- 4. Adrien Fourmaux — 2:02:18.1
- 5. Takamoto Katsuta — 2:03:32.5
- 6. Thierry Neuville — 2:04:30.9
- 7. Josh McErlean — 2:04:32.4
- 8. Jari‑Matti Latvala — 2:07:28.8
- 9. Teemu Suninen — 2:07:39.1
- 10. Robert Virves — 2:07:42.2
