Sami Pajari snapped the lead in Rally Estonia’s opening loop, out‑winning every competitor on Friday’s three gravel stages.
Early domination from the Finn
Starting fourth on the road, Pajari married pace and precision in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, recording a clean sweep of stage wins that left his front‑row rivals beyond reach. A 4.1‑second advantage over Oliver Solberg, reigning champion Sebastien Ogier’s previous best, positioned him into the top of the timesheet before the Saturday super‑special.
Solberg struggles to regain his Marché moment
Oliver Solberg, fresh from a maiden win in Monte Carlo last year, posted a 0.3‑second loss to Pajari in stage two (Karaski 1) and fell to second overall. While still holding a 0.8‑second cushion over Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux, Solberg admitted that the comfort he felt during his debut Toyota run was missing. “I try my best, but it is far from good enough,” he noted after the first loop.
Toyota, Hyundai and the rest of the field
Hyundai thrust forward with Fourmaux avoiding a ditch after a jump mishap in stage two, finishing 4.9 seconds behind the front pair. Thierry Neuville, in a struggling i20 N, finished fourth, 3.5 seconds ahead of Ogier, who was 14.6 seconds back. Neuville cited “skating on top of the road” as a reason for his lack of lateral grip, while Ogier stressed that the race was only just beginning.
Ford’s late‑stage punch and WRC2 action
M‑Sport Ford’s Josh McErlean held sixteenth overall, 23 seconds ahead of Katsuta, Lappi, and championship leader Elfyn Evans, the latter dealing with the worst road conditions as first‑to‑road. A 20‑second penalty for late service after damage in a shakedown kept Martins Sekx from the top ten, even as he sat tenth, 1.3 seconds behind Evans. Jon Armstrong concluded the field in eleventh, his opening stage hampered by a sudden left‑side puncture that demanded a swift bodywork fix.
In the WRC2 category, Estonian Robert Virves edged Finland’s Mikko Heikkila by 0.2 seconds, with fellow Estonian Patrick Enok occupying third, three point two seconds behind. The three stages will repeat in the afternoon before the super‑special finalises day two of the campaign.
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