{"id":3991,"date":"2026-08-02T16:31:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T16:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldrally.eu\/?p=3991"},"modified":"2026-08-02T16:32:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T16:32:00","slug":"sami-pajari-seals-second-wrc-win-of-the-season-at-rally-finland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldrally.eu\/index.php\/2026\/08\/02\/sami-pajari-seals-second-wrc-win-of-the-season-at-rally-finland\/","title":{"rendered":"Sami Pajari Seals Second WRC Win of the Season at Rally Finland"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sami Pajari completed a dream weekend by winning the 75th edition of Secto Rally Finland, delighting the home crowd after a tense final day that produced drama right to the finish. Two runs over the 30.02-kilometre Himos\u2013J\u00e4ms\u00e4 stage brought the rally to a close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toyota started Sunday occupying the top three places, while Hyundai targeted valuable Super Sunday and Power Stage points. Under clear skies and in front of huge crowds, the crews faced one final test on Finland’s iconic high-speed gravel roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Pajari \/\/ Photo by Goretti Marrero<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The opening pass through Himos\u2013J\u00e4ms\u00e4 passed without major changes to the overall classification. With S\u00e9bastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia recovering well after Saturday’s heavy accident, the focus shifted entirely to the battles still unfolding on the stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everything changed on the final run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Takamoto Katsuta’s hopes of a top-five finish disappeared after he struck trees with the front-left of his Toyota, dropping more than a minute. The time loss promoted Thierry Neuville into fifth place overall and ended Katsuta’s challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fight for the remaining podium positions produced one of the closest finishes of the season. Elfyn Evans and Oliver Solberg delivered identical stage times over the rally-ending test, with only hundredths of a second separating them. After the times were analysed, Evans secured second place overall, while Solberg completed the podium after another impressive weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Toyota 1-2-3 \/\/ Photo by Goretti Marrero<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Evans also finished the event on a high by setting the fastest time in the Power Stage. Oliver Solberg was second quickest, with Adrien Fourmaux and Thierry Neuville also collecting bonus championship points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the front, however, the celebrations belonged to Sami Pajari. The 24-year-old claimed his second WRC victory of the season, adding Rally Finland to his recent success in Estonia. Winning on home roads made the result even more special, and the triumph was made all the more memorable as two-time world champion Ari Vatanen welcomed the young Finn at the finish of the rally’s landmark 75th edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standings after Secto Rally Finland<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. 1. Evans – 201 points (15+4+5)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. 2. Pajari – 171 points (25+1+1)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. 3. Katsuta – 160 points (8+0)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. 4. Solberg – 156 points (17+5+4)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. 5. Ogier – 139 points (R)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. 6. Fourmaux- 129 points (12+3+3)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. 7. Neuville – 125 points (10+2+2)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. 8. Lappi – 25 points (R)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. 9. Paddon – 21 points<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. 10. McErlean – 21 points (6+0)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    WRC2 <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"
    Latvala \/\/ Photo by Goretti Marrero<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Robert Virves secured victory after maintaining his advantage over Teemu Suninen, while Lauri Joona completed the podium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Another notable performance came from Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala. Competing in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, the former factory driver finished eighth overall and was the fastest Rally2 competitor, underlining that he remains highly competitive despite focusing on his management role in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    WRC2 standings<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. 1. Virves – 100 points (25)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. 2. Korhonen – 79 points (0)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. 3. Suninen – 76 points (17)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. 4. L. Rossel – 64 points (4)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. 5. Cach\u00f3n – 61 points <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Sami Pajari completed a dream weekend by winning the 75th edition of Secto Rally Finland, delighting the home crowd after a tense final day that produced drama right to the finish. Two runs over the 30.02-kilometre Himos\u2013J\u00e4ms\u00e4 stage brought the rally to a close. Toyota started Sunday occupying the top three places, while Hyundai targeted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":3992,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[50,5],"class_list":["post-3991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wrc","tag-finland","tag-wrc"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t