Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier seemed to be heading for his first fastest time of the rally, but then came Pajari. The young driver beat the eight-time world champion by half a second. Pajari, 23, became the fourth youngest Finnish driver to set the fastest time in the WRC.
“C’mon! I don’t know what to say. What a rollercoaster of emotions today has been. Honestly, first two braking zones I was too slow and the rest was then quite good. Thank you! Thanks to Toyota and thanks to everyone,” an overjoyed Pajari said at the stage finish.
Ogier still believed he would have the fastest time when he reached the finish.
“Finally! Conditions are nicer now, more grip and more fun to drive,” Ogier summed up at the stage finish.
Rally leader Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä drove the third fastest time at Ruuhimäki. He was 0.6 seconds behind Pajari and 0.1 seconds behind Ogier.
“This is a cool stage for sure. Proper feeling in this one, a bit short but yeah. Tomorrow is gonna be quite interesting, the gaps are really small and it’s gonna be like starting from zero. Let’s see,” Rovanperä said.
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville was fourth fastest in the second run of Ruuhimäki, and Elfyn Evans was fifth fastest.
In the overall standings, Ogier managed to shave a tenth of a second off Rovanperä’s lead. Rovanperä now leads the rally by 8.3 seconds over Evans. Ogier remains in third, 9.5 seconds behind Rovanperä.
Pajari is sixth overall, nearly a minute and a half behind the leader.
Rally Finland will continue with the Harju special stage on Friday evening. The competition ends on Sunday.
Rally Finland standings after SS8/20:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 56:47.1 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +8.3 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +9.5 |
| 4. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +26.2 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +48.6 |
| 6. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +1:28.9 |
| 7. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1:49.4 |
| 8. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +3:16.8 |
Rally Finland Itinerary:
Thursday 1.8. 09.01 Shakedown: Ruuhimäki (4.12 km) 18.05 SS1: Harju 1 (3.48 km) Friday 2.8. 07.13 SS2: Laukaa 1 (17.96 km) 08.20 SS3: Saarikas 1 (15.93 km) 09.35 SS4: Myhinpää 1 (15.51 km) 11.05 SS5: Ruuhimäki 1 (7.76 km) 14.10 SS6: Laukaa 2 (17.96 km) 15.17 SS7: Saarikas 2 (15.93 km) 16.32 SS8: Myhinpää 2 (15.51 km) 18.05 SS9: Ruuhimäki 2 (7.76 km) 19.05 SS10: Harju 2 (3.48 km) Saturday 3.8. 08.05 SS11: Västilä 1 (18.94 km) 09.05 SS12: Päijälä 1 (20.19 km) 10.05 SS13: Ouninpohja 1 (32.98 km) 14.35 SS14: Västilä 2 (18.94 km) 15.35 SS15: Päijälä 2 (20.19 km) 16.35 SS16: Ouninpohja 2 (32.98 km) Sunday 4.8. 07.55 SS17: Sahloinen-Moksi 1 (14.27 km) 09.05 SS18: Laajavuori 1 (4.35 km) 10.17 SS19: Sahloinen-Moksi 2 (24.27 km) 12.15 SS20: Laajavuori 2 (8.77 km)
