Rally of Finland, Day 2: Ogier-Ingrassia, the historic duo back in the lead

The Rally of Finland has always been synonymous with spectacle in the WRC, and this was confirmed on the second day of the 75th edition: between jumps and performances on the edge (with some drivers making mistakes), made even more complicated by bad weather, Sébastien Ogier finished as provisional leader of the standings ahead of Elfyn Evans. Between the nine-time world champion and the current world leader there is a gap of 16 seconds, with the Welshman having to defend second place from the return of Sami Pajari, one of the home favorites.

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SS2-SS5: Ogier ahead of everyone, fear for Lappi

The first stage today, as well as the second overall of the Finnish rally, immediately opened with the best time set by Sébastien Ogier. The Frenchman, who for this round returned to having co-driver Julien Ingrassia (replacing the unavailable Vincent Landais), also took the lead in the overall standings ahead of his compatriot Fourmaux, who posted the exact same time as Esapekka Lappi. In the next stage, the two French Toyota drivers defended 1st and 2nd place in the standings, with Sami Pajari however reducing the gap by taking the lead in SS3, during which Armstrong went off the road. From here and for the rest of the morning, the fight for second place began between the winner of the Rally Estonia and Fourmaux: while the Finn prevailed in SS4, the Frenchman from Hyundai regained second place in the following stage. Also in SS4 and SS5, both won by Ogier, there were dramatic moments: in the first case Lappi lost control of the car, which overturned shortly after the start. Fortunately for him and his co-driver there were no consequences, as for Neuville: fourth until then, the Belgian lost two minutes due to a mistake that caused suspension damage.

SS6-SS10: everything more difficult with the rain

The battle between Fourmaux and Pajari continued into the early afternoon, at the end of which the Toyota driver regained second place thanks to the best performance. However, during SS7, the heavy rain made the rally decidedly more difficult for all drivers, especially Fourmaux (who even slipped to 7th place), McErlean, Solberg and Neuville, with Ogier risking losing control of the car. This time the leader of the world championship Evans finished ahead of everyone, with the Welshman reducing the gap on Ogier in SS8, moving to 2nd ahead of Pajari despite the tenth time in a stage that saw Solberg as protagonist. Evans then gained further precious seconds on Ogier in SS9, won by Fourmaux, during which Katsuta nearly went off the road. The Japanese driver, who had so far had a less brilliant rally, redeemed himself in the last stage of the day, sharing first place with Neuville, who posted the same time.

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Rally of Finland 2026, standings after SS10 (Top-10)