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Young Finnish Toyota driver Sami Pajari dominated the opening stages of Rally Estonia, round 9 of the 2026 WRC season, by winning the first three special stages. Pajari currently leads the rally with a 4.1-second advantage over his teammate Oliver Solberg, who claimed victory in Estonia last year in his debut with a Toyota Rally1 car.
Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai) holds third place, a mere 0.8 seconds behind Solberg and 6.2 seconds ahead of his teammate Thierry Neuville. Neuville moved past Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) into fourth position during the second stage.
The first day of Rally Estonia features seven stages. Following the third stage, there is no service park, only a 15-minute tire change zone. Competitors then tackle the second runs of the “Raanitsa” (21.45 km), “Karaski” (11.97 km), and “Kanepi” (17.43 km) stages. The day concludes with the “Elva Linn” (1.72 km) super special stage, scheduled to start at 7:30 PM Bulgarian time.
Sami Pajari capitalized perfectly on his later starting position, allowing him to drive on cleaner lines through the stages. This advantage also benefited Solberg, the Hyundai drivers, and Ogier.
“The stages are going really well for us, I’m enjoying them,” explained Pajari, who is still chasing his maiden WRC victory. “These cars make the stages in Estonia a lot of fun.”
World Championship leader Elfyn Evans (Toyota) found himself at the bottom of the top 10, once again sweeping the road for his rivals. He was sixth after the first stage but dropped to eighth position in the second.
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