Sami Pajari secured his maiden World Rally Championship (WRC) victory at Rally Estonia, driving a Toyota to a dominant win. Co-driven by Marko Salminen, the 24-year-old Finn led the event from start to finish, winning 12 of the 18 stages and finishing 19.5 seconds ahead of teammate Oliver Solberg. This performance marks Pajari as the second driver to achieve a career-first WRC win during the 2024 season.
Pajari’s Path to Victory
Pajari established control early in the rally, which utilized a new 50-hour format. His performance was defined by a streak of nine consecutive stage wins, a pace that prevented his rivals from mounting a serious challenge. This result elevates Pajari to third in the championship, trailing leader Elfyn Evans by 33 points. Reflecting on the result, Pajari credited the support of the Toyota Gazoo Racing team for his breakthrough performance.
Solberg and the Podium Battle
Despite claiming two stage wins on Saturday morning to narrow the gap to 14.1 seconds, Solberg reported difficulty in finding the ideal feeling behind the wheel to challenge Pajari’s lead. However, Solberg secured maximum bonus points by winning the Super Sunday classification and the Power Stage, providing a significant boost to his season total.
The contest for the final podium spot remained tight between the Hyundai Motorsport drivers, Adrien Fourmaux and Thierry Neuville. While both drivers capitalized on their road positions to clear the rest of the field, they lacked the speed to match the Toyotas. Fourmaux secured third place after a late-rally push, despite surviving a collision with an anti-cut device and a slow puncture earlier in the weekend. Neuville finished fourth, having struggled with car balance early in the event before finding pace in the closing stages.
Championship Implications
Reigning world champion Sébastien Ogier finished fifth, hampered by road position and finishing a distant fifth. His result kept him ahead of title rivals Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta. Evans, who opened the road on Friday, recovered from a difficult start to finish sixth, successfully extending his championship lead over Katsuta to 25 points.
The field saw several notable retirements and setbacks:
- Takamoto Katsuta: Forced to retire on Friday following a tire blowout and a puncture.
- Mārtiņš Sesks: Suffered a puncture that dropped him from sixth to seventh after an already challenging start involving a 20-second penalty for a late service arrival.
- Esapekka Lappi: Struggled to extract speed from his Hyundai i20 N, ultimately finishing eighth.
Robert Virves secured the WRC2 victory, prevailing in a close battle against Teemu Suninen and Roope Korhonen. The event underscored the importance of road position on loose gravel surfaces, a factor that dictated the performance of the championship leaders throughout the weekend.
Related reading