Rally Finland 2026: Pajari wins in front of his home crowd

All Finnish celebration

Looking at the roll of honor of the Rally of Finland, one can notice how many home drivers have managed to secure at least one victory. A sort of tradition that was confirmed today with Sami Pajari, winner for the first time in his career not only in front of his fellow countrymen fans, but also for the second time in the WRC, just a few weeks after the Rally of Estonia. A day that ended well for the 24-year-old, as well as for the comforting news coming from outside the competitions regarding the conditions of Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia. The two had been taken to hospital for checks after a violent accident that occurred in SS17 yesterday afternoon, but it was the nine-time world champion himself who reassured everyone, discharged this morning along with his co-driver: “We are fine, which is the most important thing – he said – of course, this was not what we hoped for this weekend, especially after it was going so well, but the main thing is that we are all uninjured; so, a big thank you to the team for building such a robust car. I also have to thank Julien for taking care of me immediately after the impact and for reassuring my family that I was okay. Now we will rest and make sure to return in full form as soon as possible, and thanks for all the messages we have received.”

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Super Sunday report

In the first of the two tests at Himos-Jämsä, several drivers reached the limit trying to shorten as much as possible the gap from Pajari, leader of the Finnish rally standings. Not surprisingly, the best performance in the penultimate special stage was by Oliver Solberg, second in the standings and almost three seconds ahead of Elfyn Evans. Pajari was further back, author of the 4th best time but fully managing the overall lead. Incredible, in the Power Stage, was the fight for the conquest of the latter between Evans and Solberg, both setting the exact same time. The Swede, despite severe back pain, finished in second position due to the higher number of hundredths, consoling himself with the victory in the Super Sunday. On the other hand, Takamoto Katsuta had a bad day, suffering damage to his car due to an impact with a tree, losing valuable ground and finishing outside the points zone in the Super Sunday. For this reason, he was also overtaken by Neuville in the overall standings, slipping to 6th. A different story for Pajari, only 5th in the Sunday classification (with an extra point) but celebrated by his compatriots for winning the Rally of Finland, as well as for fellow countryman Jari-Matti Latvala, also winner in WRC2.

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Rally of Finland 2026, final standings (top-10)

Next appointment

With the last round of the world championship in Northern Europe concluded, the WRC now enjoys its summer break, lasting almost a month. Engines will start again from August 27 to 30 for the first of two consecutive rounds in South America, with the Rally of Paraguay.

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