Pajari wins in Finland as Evans extends WRC lead

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After he took his first win in Estonia, Pajari made it back-to-back WRC victories to move into second in the standings behind Evans.

Pajari was the beneficiary when nine-time champion Sebastien Ogier crashed out of the lead on Saturday's penultimate stage on a high-speed right-hand corner on the fast gravel roads.

Both Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia were taken to hospital after the accident but the French driver posted on social media on Saturday night that the pair would remain in hospital overnight as a precaution but "we both feel okay, which is the most important".

Oliver Solberg, who was battling back pain on the fast jumps on the stages, and co-driver Elliott Edmondson finished in second place to complete a Toyota lock-out of the podium places.

The Hyundai duo of Adrien Fourmaux and Thierry Neuville were fourth and fifth, while Takamoto Katsuta and Northern Ireland co-driver Aaron Johnston crashed into trees on the final stage but recovered to finish in sixth place.

After the issues for Katsuta and Ogier, Pajari is now second in the standings behind Evans ahead 11th round of the season in Paraguay from 27-30 August.

Motorsport Ireland driver Josh McErlean finished the rally in seventh position as the best of the M-Sport Ford drivers.

Team-mate Martins Sesks crashed heavily on Saturday to drop out of fifth place, while Jon Armstrong's chances of a strong result came to an end on Friday after he spun and got stuck in a ditch.

"It's been a crazy weekend in terms of all the crews," McErlean said.

"A lot of new stages, a lot of new pace notes and whenever you come to a rally this fast it is super-difficult to get right.

"So we have to be pleased to get through cleanly".

Rally Finland results

1. Sami Pajari FIN/Marko Salminen FIN (Toyota) 2:27.358.0

2. Oliver Solberg SWE/Elliott Edmundson GB (Toyota) +26.7 seconds

3. Elfyn Evans GB/Scott Martin GB (Toyota) +1:19.5

4. Adrien Fourmaux FRA/Alex Coria FRA (Hyundai) +1:35.4

5. Thierry Neuville BEL/Martijn Wydaeghe BEL (Hyundai) +3:52.5

6. Takamoto Katsuta JPN/Aaron Johnston IRL (Toyota) +4:18.2

7. Josh McErlean IRL/Eoin Treacy IRL (M-Sport Ford) +4:32.7

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