Perfect Pajari leads WRC Rally Estonia after a fast-gravel masterclass

Toyota’s Sami Pajari delivered a masterclass of high-speed gravel driving to lead WRC Rally Estonia at the end of Friday’s opening leg by 14.7s.

Chasing his first victory in the FIA World Rally Championship, the Rally1 sophomore (above) was on unstoppable form on a rapid-fire first day, winning all seven stages in his factory Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.

After going quickest on the opening three stages earlier in the day, the 24-year-old Finn headed to the Tire Fitting Zone in the town of Tehvandi leading by 4.1s.

It was a margin he would build on for the remainder of the leg as he swept to three more gravel stage wins, before completing the short, asphalt-based super special in Elva to round out the day with another best time.

With that perfect score on the door, Pajari becomes the first driver since Kalle Rovanpera on last season’s Rally Canary Isles to win every stage of an opening leg.

“Simply, I just do all I can,” said Pajari. “I didn’t have any moments, and it seems under control. I’m pushing all I can. I’m just trying to enjoy it. This was proper action, a super-nice day. I will do the best I can and it’s still a super-long rally.”

The only notable cause of concern for Pajari occurred on the second run through the 7.44-mile Karaski test when he reported making a “small mistake at one corner.” However, such was his pace, the moment went unpunished.

Pajari’s Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate, Oliver Solberg – who clinched his breakthrough WRC victory on Estonia’s fast gravel 12 months ago – was second overnight, just 1.8s ahead of Adrien Fourmaux’s Hyundai in third. While Solberg has bemoaned a lack of feeling during what he described as “a difficult day for sure, very disappointing,” Fourmaux’s speed and consistency has been impressive across the opening leg.

After a moment over a jump on the second stage that left grass lodged in the front of his i20 N Rally1, but no damage, little troubled the Frenchman, who posted a succession of top-three stage times to edge out teammate Thierry Neuville by 7.5s.

Shrugging off an early grassy moment, Adrien Fourmaux is best of the Hyundais in third overall after multiple top-three times on the fast gravel. Red Bull Content Pool

Neuville, the 2024 WRC champ, made repeated references to a lack of car balance during the day, which he still completed with an advantage of 33.3s over Toyota’s reigning champ Sebastien Ogier, who’s making his first appearance in Estonia since 2021.

Takamoto Katsuta, in the fourth of the factory Toyotas, was sixth overall when he suffered a double blow on the penultimate stage. As well as a damaged front-left tire delaying him by almost one minute, the Japanese driver now faces the prospect of being the first car on the road on Saturday – the longest leg of the rally – when he restarts after he retired his GR Yaris before the leg-closing super special.

M-Sport Ford part-timer Martins Sesks is sixth in the best placed of the Puma Rally1s. The Latvian shrugged off a Shakedown crash – which earned him a 20-second penalty for leaving service two minutes late – to finish day one just 1.8s ahead of Esapekka Lappi in the third of the factory Hyundais.

It’s Lappi’s first WRC start since Safari Rally Kenya in March, and after a circumspect start, he demoted both Josh McErlean’s Puma and Elfyn Evans’ GR Yaris during the second run through 10.83-mile Kanepi test – a result he smilingly attributed to setup changes he’d made on the preceding road section.

After dropping behind Lappi on the third stage of the day, Kanepi 1, WRC points leader Evans swept back in front of his Finnish rival by going 0.6s quicker on Karaski 2. But Evans’ championship position meant he was starting first on the road, sweeping loose gravel for the cars behind, and he had no answer to Lappi on Kanepi2. He’ll start Saturday’s second leg in ninth overall, 3.2s behind McErlean, who’s just 0.1s behind Lappi in a tight scrap for the lower top-10 positions.

Jon Armstrong in the third of the Pumas is 10th overall, having lost 30s with front-left tire damage on the opening stage following a heavy landing over a jump.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, local hero Robert Virves leads a stacked field of Rally2 machinery in his Toksport Skoda Fabia RS.

The 26-year old Virves is fresh off a first career WRC2 win on last month’s Acropolis Rally Greece, but faces tough opposition from a multitude of ultra-quick Estonians and Finns – all raised on fast gravel roads.

Finnish duo Teemu Suninen and Roope Korhonen sit second and third, with Estonian Jaspar Vaher making it three GR Yaris Rally2s in a top four covered by just 7.4s.

Robert Virves’s Skoda Fabia RS leads WRC2, but the local hero is set for a tight battle with a host of Estonian and Finnish fast-gravel aces. Red Bull Content Pool

The battle resumes on Saturday with another nine stages of high-speed gravel totaling 92.96 competitive miles. With Pajari in his groove, can anyone make inroads on the WRC’s latest Flying Finn?

WRC Rally Estonia, positions after Friday/Leg One, SS7
1 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 49m43.5s
2 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +14.7s
3 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +16.5s
4 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +24.0s
5 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +33.3s
6 Martins Sesks/Renars Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +44.7s
7 Esapekka Lappi/Enni Malkonen (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +46.5s
8 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +46.6s
9 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +49.8s
10 Jon Armstrong/Shane Byrne (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m04.3s
11 Robert Virves/Jakko Viilo (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 leader) +2m44.8s 

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