We came then to the final day and although there were only (yes, I know) two stages remaining, they were thirty kilometres in length giving a total of sixty kilometres over the final day. The stage had everything as well with quick sections and a more technical end as the crews came into the ski section area.

Just a correction to make from yesterday’s report as I stated that Martins and Renars would open the road after their exit stage left during yesterday. As their teammates Jon and Shane were the first retirement, they would continue to open the road during these two stages.

Onto the action then with SS19 Himos-Jämsä 1 and Oliver set the pace, going almost three seconds faster from Elfyn and Takamoto was third. The highest placed Hyundai crew were Adrien and Alex with the fifth best time, whilst further back Josh and Eoin were seventh fastest and the best placed M-Sport crew. Adrien’s time was actually amazing as there was a large bumble bee in their car causing a huge distraction for them. Oliver’s time was also quite remarkable as he’d hurt his back on one of the jumps in the stage.

There was a regroup before the crews prepared to go again in the powerstage just over two hours later.

It was time then for SS20 Himos-Jämsä 2 Powerstage and Jon set the early pace which could not be beaten by his teammates. The first crew to beat that time was Thierry before Adrien, Oliver and Elfyn came through. There was disaster for Takamoto and Aaron though as he lost control on a fast right-hander before going offline and hitting some bushes on the outside of the following corner with the front of the Yaris. There was damage to the front which included the cooling pack. He limped to the end and lost fifth position whilst Josh also almost ended up passing the Japanese driver for sixth. Thierry was the one who passed Takamoto moving into fifth place. The Welshman and his Swedish teammate actually set the same time in the stage, meaning that the timing needed to be taken to the hundredth of a second. It was Elfyn that got the nod for the fastest time giving him the maximum powerstage points. However, it was Oliver who was fastest over the two stages and would take the maximum Sunday points. Meanwhile Sami and Marko had crossed the line and taken their second win in a row on their home rally. What a result for them.

Let’s hear from the drivers and take a look at the final finishing positions.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sami Pajari

“It feels simply amazing to win Rally Finland. It’s another dream result for us. It was already a big thing to take the first win in Estonia but to win at home is always something special. Winning at home hasn’t always been easy for Finnish drivers but somehow after a crazy rally we have managed to make it happen. This one was tougher and more intense than Estonia; it was a really close fight with Seb and Elfyn and we were setting very similar times for most of the rally. To be a winner of the ‘1000 Lakes’ is incredible. Marko and I grew up watching legendary drivers win this rally and now we are on top of the podium too; it’s crazy. Big thanks to the team and the fans for all their support.”

Oliver Solberg

“It has been a crazy weekend and a crazy day today. I’m very happy to be here at the finish, on the podium again and to win Super Sunday. We just missed out on the Power Stage by a fraction of a second, but I was just happy to be able to drive the last stage as fast as I could, as I was careful in many places. Still, we take many valuable points and it’s a great result for the team once again.”

Elfyn Evans

“I’m happy to finish on the podium but I owe this one to the team who fixed the car in service yesterday after my mistake. Super Sunday was fast paced as usual on what was a very quick stage. I maybe wasn’t brave enough on the first pass and tried to do more on the second pass; the grip was much higher, and I maybe didn’t use it all but I’m happy with the points we could take away. Congratulations to Sami and Marko; I know how special it feels to win your home rally. There was not a lot between them, us, and Seb and Julien – who I wish a speedy recovery – but they were the ones who didn’t falter and very much deserve this win.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“It’s been a really tough weekend for me. Today I was hoping to try and take some extra points, but it didn’t go so well in the end. In the final stage I saw a rock sticking out on the inside and tried to avoid it, but there was so much loose gravel off the line. We went wide and couldn’t make the next right-hander and hit a tree. It was my mistake and I feel very sorry for the team. I just need to reset and do better next time.”

Sébastien Ogier (DNF)

“This was not the way that we wanted to end this weekend especially after everything was going so well. But the most important thing is that we are both OK, so a big thank you to the team for building such a strong car. I also need to thank Julien for taking good care of me immediately after the impact and reassuring my family I am well. We will take some rest now and make sure we are back to full strength soon and thank you for all the messages we received. Congratulations to Sami and Marko for another victory and all the team for locking out the podium at home once again.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Adrien Fourmaux

“I have some mixed feelings at the end of Rally Finland. I’m very happy because I was really enjoying the rally, and I’m very pleased with the pace I was giving in the stages. I’m just a bit disappointed not to finish on the podium. We lost 1 minute 25 seconds to Sami in the rain on Friday, and today we have ended the rally 1 minute 35 seconds behind, which shows how close the gaps are if we removed the rainy stage. However, I’ve no regrets. We scored good points on Sunday, but I do feel we deserved more than that.”

Thierry Neuville

“Friday was the toughest day for our rally, and after that we were just waiting for today to take some Power Stage and Super Sunday points. In the end we scored four bonus points, which is a decent result considering what happened on Friday. It was a bit of bad luck; we went a little wide, hit one stone, and that was enough to damage the suspension. Then we were unlucky again with the timing of the rain. The result of that made the rest of the rally very challenging, but I was able to enjoy today.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Josh McErlean

“Rally Finland complete. It’s been a crazy weekend with the number of accidents along the way, but we’ve kept our noses clean and to finish seventh overall is a really positive result. Obviously Friday was tricky with the weather, but after that we found a good pace and were fighting with Thierry throughout Saturday. It was hard to hold on to that on Sunday, but overall, it was a clean weekend with plenty of positives to take away, and hopefully we can carry that into South America and come away with another good result.”

Mārtiņš Sesks

“I think overall the rally started quite well, especially on Friday afternoon. In the rain we found a really good feeling with the car, and that continued into Saturday morning where we had some really good pace. We made an unfortunate mistake, probably from being a little too optimistic, and unfortunately it ended with a crash. The team then did an amazing job to repair the car and get us back out for Sunday, which was a great team effort and a real highlight of the weekend.”

Jon Armstrong

“It’s my first Rally Finland in 10 years, and I wanted to get as much mileage as possible to learn more about the event. That was the aim, but on Friday we got caught out on one of the narrow roads, got pulled into the ditch and got stuck, so it was a shame not to finish the day and get that extra mileage. After that, it was all about getting as much seat time as possible on Saturday and Sunday, learning more about the event and the roads. Some of the pace has been pretty good, but we obviously still need to improve going forward. Overall, it’s been an okay weekend, and now we’re looking forward to South America to learn what those events are all about, as well as the Grampian Rally next weekend.”

Summary – The Podium

What a result then for Sami and Marko taking their second win in a row and bringing themselves into the title fight. They won six of the twenty stages, meaning they were on the pace and although they moved into the lead when Seb and Julien crashed out, it was a deserved victory. They are now thirty points from Elfyn and Scott who continue to lead the championship.

Oliver and Elliott took second position, and this is their second podium in a row as well after second place in Estonia. This improved their points position as well, due in part to their pace over the two stages which made up the stages over the final day. Fastest over the stages gave them maximum points over super Sunday and second in the power stage meant they’d given themselves a good boost of points in the championship fight.

Finally, Elfyn and Scott paid tribute to the mechanics at the Toyota rally team who’d carried out the repairs after the stage where he rolled out of second place at the time. He then passed Adrien for position which then became third position. Their pace on the final day gave them second in the super Sunday standings and the fastest time in the power stage. These points meant they’ve actually increased their lead in the championship standings with four rounds left.

Final Overall Classification – Rally Finland

Super Sunday Classification – Rally Finland

2026 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 10

Onto Saturday then and there were 126 kilometres over eight stages for the crews to tackle. Jon and Shane returned to the action and would open the road throughout the day. What would the day hold?

Well, it was straight into the action with SS11 Parkkola 1 and Elfyn was the pacesetter, going fastest from Sami and Seb. The Welshman had nibbled a few seconds from Seb’s lead which was encouraging, bringing the gap down to thirteen seconds. Sami who held third overall also closed the gap a little. There was a change in positions in the lower top ten as Takamoto passed Josh for seventh overall.

The second of the four stages in the morning loop was SS12 Päijälä 1 and Sami set the pace from Seb and Elfyn this time. All the drivers said how much they’d enjoyed this particular stage. Further back, Adrien was focusing on closing the gap to Martins who held fifth overall and the Frenchman reduced the gap by almost seven seconds to the Latvian.

Sami made it two in a row, going fastest in SS13 Västilä 1 from Elfyn and Seb as the top three continued their front running pace. Meanwhile the fight between Martins in fifth and Adrien in sixth the Latvian kept the time loss to a minimum, only losing 1.7 seconds and the gap was now twelve seconds.

The final stage then before the lunchtime service break, SS14 Leustu 1 and Seb was fastest from Sami and Takamoto, but this was not the whole story of the stage. Firstly, Martins crashed out of the stage at around 1.6 kilometres into the stage and they were out for the day. Jon who was opening the road had a wide moment but managed to finish the stage. Finally, Elfyn, who’d almost finished the stage ran wide, dropping the left rear into a ditch which sent the car into a triple roll, finally finishing on it’s wheels. The car was still running, and he got going again, only to drive forwards into the ditch. The spectators who amazingly included Elfyn’s dad came to help out, getting the Yaris out from the ditch and Gwyndaf directed his son to the best exit from the field, back onto the stage and he’d lost almost two minutes, yet was still holding fifth place. Oliver was the one to benefit moving into third overall.

After the service break came SS15 Parkkola 2 and Sami was fastest from Elfyn who’s car had been rebuilt during service and Oliver Rally leader Seb was fourth and maintained a good lead of just over twenty seconds. Elfyn who of course was fifth but eyeing up Adrien’s fourth position closed the gap to the Frenchman, now just a little over six seconds back.

Onto SS16 Päijälä 2 and it was another stage win for Seb by just two tenths of a second from Elfyn whilst Sami was third fastest. Elfyn’s pace had edged closer to Adrien, the gap now just over four seconds. Meanwhile Josh was doing the best to keep Thierry behind him as the Belgian was edging closer for seventh place.

There was huge drama at the end of SS17 Västilä 2 though, after Sami, Elfyn and Oliver had already finished the stage and held the top three fastest times. Seb sadly crashed out of the lead at just over 18 kilometres into the 19-kilometre stage. The stage was red flagged, and a helicopter was brought in to take Seb to hospital. This all meant that now Sami was leading from Oliver, whilst Adrien was up to third, yet Elfyn was on the same overall time as the Hyundai driver.

The final stage of the day then, SS18 Leustu 2 and Elfyn was fastest from Sami and Oliver, The Welshman’s pace took him into third overall as Adrien’s hold on the position came to an end after just one stage. The other Hyundai crew Thierry and Martijn were moving up though as they passed Josh for what was now sixth place.

Let’s hear from the drivers and take a look at the top twn.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sami Pajari

“It has been a crazy day with a lot of different things happening, and suddenly we find ourselves in the lead tonight. The morning was really enjoyable; I was having maybe the best time that I’ve ever had behind the wheel of a rally car, driving these beautiful stages with the best car in the world. After Elfyn’s roll we moved up to second and thought the gap to Seb was too much to catch, so I just tried to keep enjoying and keep some flow in my driving. Then Seb went off, and the most important thing is that both he and Julien are OK. It shows that things can change very quickly, and we still have two stages to do tomorrow, so nothing is decided yet.”

Oliver Solberg

“My feeling was good in the first stage this morning, but I had some issues hearing my pacenotes in the next one. The gap to those in front became a bit too big and I didn’t want to take too much risk, so the plan was to try and preserve our position and see what happens. Then Elfyn had his roll and later Seb and Julien went off – I’m glad that they are both OK. Tomorrow will be a new day and a new fight, and we’ll do the best we can to secure some valuable points.”

Elfyn Evans

“Today started pretty well with a good feeling in the car. Unfortunately, we got caught out in the last stage of the morning, running a bit wide into a ditch and rolling multiple times. A huge thanks to the team who did an incredible job to put the car right in service; it was brilliant all afternoon and that allowed us to fight and gain back positions. The main target was fourth, and that became third after what happened to Seb and Julien; I want to wish all the best to them this evening. Tomorrow we’ll be trying our best like always.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Today’s stages were very challenging, and you needed big commitment and confidence. After the time lost yesterday, our main focus was on trying some different things with the car setup. It’s hard to find a big step forward, but the times in the afternoon were not too bad. Hopefully what we found can work well tomorrow and we’ll try to get some more points. I feel sorry for what happened to Seb and Julien and I’m glad to hear they are OK.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Adrien Fourmaux

“It’s been a bit of a crazy day for us, with a lot of drama on the stages. We started in sixth, were fourth by midday, then made it into podium positions before losing it again. I have no regrets though, I gave everything I had in the afternoon loop, but the later cars were able to go much faster and we lost third to Elfyn. Even so, I am really pleased with today. I felt good in the car, so let’s see what is possible tomorrow. It won’t be easy with a 3.8-second gap to Elfyn, but our target is to find some more speed than him.”

Thierry Neuville

“It has been a long day for us, with not much for us to play for. We wanted to catch two positions – Taka and Josh – but in the end we could only manage to overtake Josh with a push on the final stage, which was definitely the nicest of the day. It was the maximum we could do as we look ahead to tomorrow, where hopefully we can score some Super Sunday points. It will be difficult, as we have seen today that the cleaning makes a difference, and running at the front we struggle for grip, but it is important we take as many points as possible from a challenging weekend.”

Classification after Day Two

Sunday

The final day will see Martins and Renars return to the action after the M-Sport team rebuilt the Puma in four hours. They will therefore open the road on the final two stages which are thirty kilometres in length. Will there be any final drama in them?

The first day of action on the amazing roads in the Finnish forests and the crews had 130 kilometres over nine stages. There has been a single stage run on Thursday evening and the top three was Adrien then Thierry and Seb.

Straight into the action with SS2 Laukaa 1 and Seb was fastest from Esapekka and Adrien. The Frenchman’s pace gained him two positions and put him and the returning Julien into the lead from Adrien and Alex, whilst Thierry and Martijn were third. Championship leaders Elfyn and Scott were fifth after dropping behind Esapekka who’d found some pace after a huge amount of preparation for this rally.

Onto SS3 Saarikas 1 and it was a stage win for Sami from Seb and Thierry. It had been a good start to the event for the Hyundai crews as well. Sami’s pace lifted him and Marko into third overall and was only four seconds behind the leader who was Seb. Sadly, we lost Jon and Shane in this one as they slid off the road and could not get back on, even with some help from spectators.

Next up came SS4 Sydänmaa 1 and once again Seb was fastest from Sami and Elfyn. The Finn and Welshman both gained positions moving into second and fifth respectively. Unfortunately, we lost Esapekka and Enni as the car slid wide and was sent into a roll, before finishing on its roof. They were out for the day.

The final stage of the morning loop was SS5 Hoho 1 and it confirmed Toyota’s dominance after winning all the morning stages. It was Seb again who delivered this pace from Adrien and Oliver. Adrien’s pace took him into second overall, whilst Oliver was also finding some pace and moved into fourth. Further back Takamoto and Martins both gained positions as well, going into sixth and seventh. It was a painful second stage in a row for Hyundai as Thierry hit something and damaged the front right suspension. The Belgian lost over a minute and a half finishing the stage. However, they made some repairs and got back to the service park meaning they could at least continue in the afternoon.

After the service break came SS6 Laukaa 2 and Sami set the pace from Oliver and Seb. Sami passed Adrien after the Frenchman was only fourth fastest.

SS7 Saarikas 2 saw the rain arrive in a big way for the later crews meaning the first two into the stage had the best conditions. Elfyn was fastest from Takamoto and Sami. This just showed the conditions were way harder later. With big heavy rain falling and Oliver lost almost a minute. Elfyn’s pace lifted him into third overall, and less than ten seconds from the leader.

Into SS8 Sydänmaa 2 and Oliver made the best of the conditions as Elfyn was still opening the road and had the worse of the rain in this one. Martins was second fastest whilst Seb was third. It was a painful stage for Takamoto who lost over two minutes with a fogged-up windscreen for half of the stage and Sami who didn’t lose so much and was thirty-four seconds down. His teammate, Elfyn passed Sami for second overall but with Seb having the best conditions they took a healthy 26 second lead.

The last forest stage then of the day SS9 Hoho 2 and Adrien showed what their car was capable of with the fastest time from Oliver and Martins. The Latvian in the M-Sport Puma was really finding some form towards the end of the day. Elfyn trimmed Seb’s lead a little to 18 seconds.

It was two stage wins in a row for Hyundai in SS10 Harju 2 with Thierry going fastest, but with an identical time as Takamoto whilst Elfyn was third, just three tenths back.

Let’s hear from the drivers and take a look at the top ten.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sébastien Ogier

“We started this morning with the plan to push because rallies like this are usually fought with very small gaps. It’s important to be in a good rhythm right away and we had a good morning, but it was still very close. This afternoon with the rain that came was a different story: then it was about trying to survive those conditions without losing too much time. It seems we managed it quite well as we increased our lead, so that’s very positive, but I’m sure the others will keep pushing and we will still have a fight on our hands for the rest of the weekend.”

Elfyn Evans

“We made a decent start this morning; the grip was changing a lot from corner to corner but the driving felt pretty committed. Then the rain arrived this afternoon and we took advantage on the second stage before the conditions deteriorated. On the next stage we got the rain pretty heavily at the start, so that was tricky to navigate, but it’s been a difficult afternoon for many people so we’re happy to get through it in this position. Seb’s had a great day and it’s a big gap to try and catch, but it’s still relatively early days in this rally and we just need to keep doing our best.”

Sami Pajari

“The morning loop was pretty decent for us, but we still had room to improve, and we tried to step up our game for the second loop. We won the first stage of the afternoon, and even in the second one when the rain came we could close the gap to Seb to just a few seconds. Then the third stage of the loop changed everything. It was really demanding for everyone, and for some reason visibility was very difficult for us and we lost a lot of time. Anyway, we are still in a podium position and the fight is still on.”

Oliver Solberg

“It’s been a pretty crazy day. This morning I never quite found the perfect feeling, but I tried to not over push and to stay in the mix. In the afternoon I felt much more comfortable, and then the heavens opened. I think we were a bit unlucky with exactly when the rain hit and when it was most intense, but we fought back later on with good speed. I’m still quite happy with our day and anything can still happen, so we keep fighting.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“It has been a frustrating day. This morning I was struggling for confidence but together with the team we changed quite a lot and in the afternoon the feeling with the car was much better; it was quite a big step. Unfortunately, in the third stage of the loop we got a lot of mist on the screen and struggled to see anything. The main priority was to stay on the road, and we lost more than two minutes. I think it was quite unlucky but there’s still two days to go and we will keep pushing.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Adrien Fourmaux

“We had good pace today, but we went from second after the first loop to sixth overall, which is quite disappointing. The rain was incredible, I was struggling to see 20 metres in front of the car, and we were just aquaplaning on the roads. I tried my best to not make any mistakes, but time flies at this rally and it is impossible to catch it back when you lose it. I will try to take fifth place and wait and see what happens to those ahead. When the conditions were mud, and no water, it was really enjoyable, but the risk of aquaplaning is a nightmare.”

Thierry Neuville

“I feel we were really unlucky today. We made a small mistake with a slightly too optimistic pace note and lost the rear of the car. We ran wide and caught a stone, but thankfully we made it back and the mechanics were able to fix the car. It was running very well this afternoon, but then the rain came and hit us very hard. I think myself; Adrien and Oliver were the most punished by it, and we lost a tremendous amount of time. The rally isn’t over – we’re aiming to catch two more positions, and then we will see what else is possible.”

Esapekka Lappi

“During a high-speed section, I braked a bit late, although I thought I was still able to slow the car down. I tried to turn in and make a cut on the corner, but that didn’t help, and we ended up with the rear of the car in the ditch on the exit. I thought we might have got away with it, but then the skirt lifted, and we rolled. It’s bad luck that how we landed caused damage to the roll cage, and now we’re not able to restart. It’s a shame for it to end this way, especially as we were demonstrating good speed, and we were satisfied with the preparation we did for Finland.”

Classification after Day One

Saturday

The second full day of stages in Finland will see the crews tackle eight stages over 125 kilometres. It will be a huge challenge and it will be interesting to see how things go for the championship challengers.