Sami Pajari sealed a commanding lead at Rally Estonia, stretching his advantage to 25.0 seconds over Toyota teammate Oliver Solberg after a flawless Saturday that saw 12 of 16 stages won.
Pajari Pours Out a Gravel Masterclass
Pajari’s day began with a 14.7‑second advantage, then’s carved a 17.6‑second edge by the end of the morning loop, before Solberg cut back the margin on stages 10 and 11 to 14.1 seconds.
Once power service finished, the Finnish driver pushed hard again, setting the fastest times on the first three afternoon stages and re‑establishing a clear gap.
“It isn’t easy, it’s never meant to be easy,” he said, noting a fan’s quirky poster that read “Sami, don’t listen to Marko, send it.”
Solberg Finds the GR Yaris Backing
Solberg recalled feeling almost as confident in his Toyota GR Yaris as he did on the way to his own WRC victory in Estonia a year earlier, yet admitted he had to play it safer to preserve the tyre life.
“The morning was more positive than yesterday, but the risk‑taking isn’t there yet,” he said. “A more optimistic tyre choice this afternoon made it difficult to go flat out.”
Hyundai’s Third‑Place Duel Tightens
Hyundai teammates Adrien Fourmaux and Thierry Neuville squabbled for third. Fourmaux opened the day with a 7.5‑second edge, which shrank to 1.9 seconds before the final stage.
Neuville used stage 15 to claim 4.2 seconds on Fourmaux, delivering the first Hyundai stage win of the rally and securing his place on the podium.
“I’m happy with the afternoon and the tyre call,” Neuville said. “Adrien was super fast—let’s enjoy tomorrow and see who ends up on top.”
Ogier and Evans Keep Their Respective Courses
Sébastien Ogier finished fifth, a full minute and 32.8 seconds down, admitting it will be “difficult to catch position” even with extra effort tomorrow.
Elfyn Evans, starting the day ninth, reclaimed sixth place after a span of retakes and punctures that pushed McErlean and Lappi into the pits.
- Evans surpassed Esapekka Lappi and M‑Sport’s Josh McErlean to slot into seventh.
- McErlean’s Ford Puma retired after an exhaust manifold failure.
- Martins Sesks suffered a front‑right puncture that aided Evans’ climb.
Other Stand‑Out Performances and Reflections
Highlights included M‑Sport’s Jon Armstrong and Estonian WRC2 aspirant Robert Virves closing in on class lead, while Takamoto Katsuta suffered a double puncture and treated the rally as a test run.
Two loops of the 24.39‑kilometre Kaariku will finish the event, with teams aiming to press their positions on the final two stages.
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