Pajari Takes Maiden Victory After Dominant Weekend in Estonia

Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen completed a flawless weekend to claim their maiden FIA World Rally Championship victory at the 2026 Delfi Rally Estonia. Having taken the lead on Friday’s opening stages, the Toyota duo never relinquished their advantage, controlling the rally from start to finish and becoming first-time WRC winners after 18 demanding stages.

Sunday’s itinerary consisted of just two passes through the fast Kääriku stage, leaving little opportunity for dramatic changes in the overall classification. Pajari focused on bringing the car safely to the finish, while Oliver Solberg mounted one final charge to secure maximum Super Sunday and Power Stage points. Elfyn Evans finished second in the Sunday classification, ahead of Pajari, Sébastien Ogier and Adrien Fourmaux.

Pajari ultimately sealed victory with a winning time of 2:31:16.5, finishing 19.5 seconds clear of Solberg. Adrien Fourmaux completed the podium for Hyundai, holding off team-mate Thierry Neuville by just 5.9 seconds after an intense battle throughout the weekend. Ogier finished fifth ahead of championship leader Evans, while Mārtiņš Sesks, Esapekka Lappi, Jon Armstrong and WRC2 winner Robert Virves rounded out the overall top ten.

Despite missing out on the overall victory, Solberg left Estonia with maximum bonus points after setting the fastest time on the Power Stage. Neuville claimed the second-fastest time, followed by Evans, Ogier and Takamoto Katsuta, collecting valuable championship points heading into the next round.

Standings after Delfi Rally Estonia

1. 1. Elfyn Evans – 177 points (8+4+3)

1. 2. Takamoto Katsuta – 152 points (0+0+1)

• 3. Sami Pajari – 144 points (25+3+0)

• 4. Sébastien Ogier – 139 points (10+2+2)

• 5. Oliver Solberg – 130 points (17+5+5)

• 6. Thierry Neuville – 111 points (12+0+4)

• 7. Adrien Fourmaux – 111 points (15+1+0)

• 8. Esapekka Lappi – 25 points (4+0+0)

• 9. Hayden Paddon – 21 points

1. 10. Yohan Rossel – 20 points

WRC2

In WRC2, home favourite Robert Virves delighted the Estonian fans by securing victory after leading the category from SS2. Behind him, the fight for second went down to the final stage, with Roope Korhonen holding the advantage entering Sunday’s finale before Teemu Suninen produced a quicker time on the last test to snatch second place. Korhonen completed the podium.

WRC2 standings

1. Korhonen – 79 points (15)
2. Virves – 75 points (25)
3. Cachon – 61 points
4. Rossel – 60 points
5. Suninen – 59 points (17)

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