Sami Pajari Wins the 2026 WRC Secto Rally Finland

Sébastien Ogier retired from Secto Rally Finland on the penultimate stage of Saturday, handing the lead to Sami Pajari, who held onto it during the two Sunday stages to claim his second consecutive WRC victory. The Finn moved up to second place in the drivers' championship, 30 points behind Elfyn Evans, who finished third and extended his lead at the top of the World Championship.

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Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia, who sat alongside him again due to Vincent Landais's absence, were leading the rally with a 20.9-second margin when they went off the road in a fast left-right sequence within stage 17. The Toyota hit hard, but both got out on their own and were taken to hospital for observation. They spent the night without complications and were discharged on Sunday morning. Juha Kankkunen, deputy director of Toyota Gazoo Racing, reported that medical checks came back positive and that the team will review the telemetry to understand the cause of the off. Ogier thanked the car's strength and Ingrassia's support in the moments following the impact.

The accident left Pajari in front with a 46.4-second lead over Oliver Solberg. On Sunday, the Finn managed the gap across the two runs through the Himos Jämsa stage, the longest of the rally at 30 kilometers. Solberg had lost nearly a minute on Friday due to rain and a visibility issue, completed a solid weekend and finished second, 26.7 seconds behind the winner. A harsh landing on the first loop on Sunday caused him severe back pain, but it did not prevent him from keeping the position.

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Evans staged the most demanding comeback of the weekend. He rolled on the last stage of Saturday morning and lost nearly two minutes before spectators helped him get the car back on the road. The team repaired the damage during the midday service, and Evans returned to the stages with the pace to climb from fifth to third place overall. He finished 1:19.5 behind Pajari, won the Power Stage and the Super Sunday, and picked up the bonus points that allow him to extend his lead at the top of the championship. Evans has 201 points, Pajari 171, Takamoto Katsuta 160, Solberg 156, and Ogier 139.

Adrien Fourmaux was the best Hyundai in fourth place, 1:35.9 back, ahead of Thierry Neuville, fifth at 3:52.5 after a hidden stone cost him nearly three minutes on Friday. Katsuta finished sixth, 4:18.2 behind. He lost fifth place on the last stage on Sunday when he hit a tree. Josh McErlean, in the Ford Puma, was seventh, 4:32.7 back.

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In WRC2, Toyota team director Jari-Matti Latvala won his class and finished eighth overall, 8:25.5 behind, ahead of Robert Virves and Teemu Suninen, who scored points for the championship. Estonian Jaspar Vaher, from Toyota's development program, finished fourth in WRC2.

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Toyota Gazoo Racing leads the manufacturers' championship with 514 points, followed by Hyundai with 340, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 with 184, and M-Sport Ford with 130. The World Championship resumes in Paraguay from August 27 to 30, on the red clay roads surrounding Encarnación.

WRC Overall - Secto Rally Finland 2026

POS	#	driver/codriver	team	brand	car	time
1	5	Sami PAJARI Marko SALMINEN	Toyota Gazoo Racing Wrt2	Toyota	Gr Yaris Rally1	2:27:58.0
2	99	Oliver SOLBERG Elliott EDMONDSON	Toyota Gazoo Racing Wrt	Toyota	Gr Yaris Rally1	+ 26.7
3	33	Elfyn EVANS Scott MARTIN	Toyota Gazoo Racing Wrt	Toyota	Gr Yaris Rally1	+ 1:19.5
4	16	Adrien FOURMAUX Alexandre CORIA	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	Hyundai	I20 N Rally1	+ 1:35.9
5	11	Thierry NEUVILLE Martijn WYDAEGHE	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	Hyundai	I20 N Rally1	+ 3:52.5
6	18	Takamoto KATSUTA Aaron JOHNSTON	Toyota Gazoo Racing Wrt	Toyota	Gr Yaris Rally1	+ 4:18.2
7	55	Joshua MCERLEAN Eoin TREACY	M-sport Ford World Rally Team	Ford	Puma Rally1	+ 4:32.7
8	22	Mārtinš SESKS Renārs FRANCIS	M-sport Ford World Rally Team	Ford	Puma Rally1	+ 51:52.4
9	95	Jon ARMSTRONG Shane BYRNE	M-sport Ford World Rally Team	Ford	Puma Rally1	+ 81:39.6
10	40	Jari-Matti LATVALA Juho HÄNNINEN	Jml-sports Oy	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 8:25.5
11	25	Robert VIRVES Jakko VIILO	Toksport Wrt	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 8:46.9
12	26	Teemu SUNINEN Janni HUSSI	Teemu Suninen	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 9:03.0
13	31	Lauri JOONA Antti LINNAKETO	Lauri Joona	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 9:41.2
14	41	Jaspar VAHER Rait JANSEN	Toyota Gazoo Racing Wrt Ng	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 9:42.6
15	39	Romet JÜRGENSON Siim OJA	M-sport Ford World Rally Team	Ford	Fiesta Mk Ii	+ 9:52.6
16	23	Nikolay GRYAZIN Konstantin ALEKSANDROV	Lancia Corse Hf	Lancia	Ypsilon Hf	+ 10:04.4
17	35	Mille JOHANSSON Johan GRÖNVALL	M-sport Ford World Rally Team	Ford	Fiesta Mk Ii	+ 10:28.9
18	24	Yohan ROSSEL Arnaud DUNAND	Lancia Corse Hf	Lancia	Ypsilon Hf	+ 10:55.5
19	38	Giovanni TRENTIN Pietro Elia OMETTO	Mt Racing Srl	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 11:16.0
20	37	Pablo SARRAZIN Yannick ROCHE	Pablo Sarrazin	Lancia	Ypsilon Hf	+ 11:30.2
21	21	Léo ROSSEL Guillaume MERCOIRET	2c Junior Team	Lancia	Ypsilon Hf	+ 12:25.5
22	46	Takumi MATSUSHITA Pekka KELANDER	Toyota Gazoo Racing Wrt Ng	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 13:19.2
23	34	Taylor GILL Daniel BRKIC	Taylor Gill	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 14:57.0
24	36	Mattéo CHATILLON Maxence CORNUAU	Mattéo Chatillon	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 15:07.4
25	50	Conner MARTELL Alessandro GELSOMINO	2c Junior Team	Lancia	Ypsilon Hf	+ 16:05.7
26	47	Shotaro GOTO Jussi LINDBERG	Toyota Gazoo Racing Wrt Ng	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 16:46.8
27	48	Martin PROKOP Michal ERNST	Martin Prokop	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 17:08.1
28	51	Adrien MOSCA Julie AMBLARD	Printsport	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 23:08.1
29	70	Olli LAHTI Laura SUVANTO	Olli Lahti	Skoda	Fabia	+ 30:20.4
30	52	Ugur SOYLU Mehmet YALÇIN	Gp Garage My Team	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 35:16.9
31	53	Johannes KEFERBÖCK Ilka MINOR	Johannes Keferböck	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 35:34.2
32	49	Eliott DELECOUR Alexis MAILLEFERT	Eliott Delecour	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 49:44.7
33	20	Roope KORHONEN Anssi VIINIKKA	Rautio Motorsport	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 68:05.3
34	30	Yuki YAMAMOTO James FULTON	Printsport	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 69:15.7
35	43	Patrick ENOK Silver SIMM	Printsport	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 90:30.1
36	27	Fau ZALDIVAR Marcelo DER OHANNESIAN	Fau Zaldivar	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 123:37.6
37	66	Gil MEMBRADO Adrián PÉREZ	Gil Membrado	Ford	Fiesta Rally3	+ 20:31.0
38	67	Leevi LASSILA Mikko LUKKA	Leevi Lassila	Ford	Fiesta Rally3	+ 20:33.0
39	54	Matteo FONTANA Alessandro ARNABOLDI	Matteo Fontana	Ford	Fiesta Rally3	+ 20:35.7
40	56	Tymek ABRAMOWSKI Jakub WRÓBEL	Tymek Abramowski	Ford	Fiesta Rally3	+ 20:36.8
41	64	Calle CARLBERG Jørgen ERIKSEN	Calle Carlberg	Ford	Fiesta Rally3	+ 21:35.7
42	58	Jarkko NIKARA Tomiya MAEKAWA	Toyota Gazoo Racing Wrt Ng	Renault	Clio Rally3	+ 21:54.4
43	69	Kerem KAZAZ Corentin SILVESTRE	Team Petrol Ofisi	Ford	Fiesta Rally3	+ 23:02.9
44	61	Ville PYNNÖNEN Niklas HEINO	Ville Pynnönen	Renault	Clio Rally3	+ 25:02.0
45	65	Ali TÜRKKAN Bilge AYAN	Castrol Ford Team Türkiye	Ford	Fiesta Rally3	+ 27:00.7
46	62	Riku TAHKO Markus SOININEN	Riku Tahko	Ford	Fiesta Rally3	+ 27:20.2
47	71	Tuomas VIREN Jussi LAINE	Tuomas Viren	Ford	Fiesta Rally3	+ 40:41.3
48	63	Ismo LEIKOLA Tuomo HANNONEN	Tuomo Hannonen	Ford	Fiesta Rally3	+ 41:35.5
49	59	Rio OGATA Mikael KORHONEN	Toyota Gazoo Racing Wrt Ng	Renault	Clio Rally3	+ 59:35.0
50	57	Nataniel BRUUN Pablo OLMOS	Nataniel Bruun	Ford	Fiesta Rally3	+ 101:49.3