Sami Pajari won all six stages on the opening day of Rally Estonia to lead a Toyota Gazoo Racing one-two ahead of team-mate Oliver Solberg. The Finn built a 14.7-second cushion on one of the fastest rounds of the World Rally Championship, leaving championship leader Elfyn Evans down in ninth after a tough run opening the road.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team ended the first day of Rally Estonia on top, with Sami Pajari setting the fastest time on every stage to lead a team one-two. The Finn heads team-mate Oliver Solberg by 14.7 seconds after a flawless Friday on the fast Estonian gravel.
A clean sweep from the start
Rally Estonia is one of the quickest events on the calendar, and this year it runs to a compact format that squeezes just over 300 competitive kilometres (186 miles) into little more than 48 hours. After sharing the fastest shakedown time with Evans in the morning, Pajari carried that form into the opening loop, topping all three stages to lead Solberg by 4.1 seconds.
He was even stronger on the second pass through the forest stages, pushing his advantage beyond 14 seconds, then rounded off the day fastest on the closing street stage in Elva to finish 14.7s clear.
Solberg holds off Hyundai
Solberg, back in Estonia a year on from his debut Rally1 win, stayed in the top three on every stage to hold second, 1.8s ahead of Adrien Fourmaux’s Hyundai. Sébastien Ogier, competing in Estonia for the first time in five years, sat fifth, 9.3s behind Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville.
The day was less kind to the other two Toyota crews. Takamoto Katsuta was running sixth before tyre damage on the final forest stage forced him out with no usable spare; the team says it will rebuild his car to restart on Saturday. Evans, first on the road on very dry, loose gravel, could only manage ninth.
“To take a clean sweep of stage wins and be in the lead is really good, and more importantly the feeling behind the wheel has been really great,” said Pajari. “Still, it’s only Friday. There’s two long days still to go, so no chance to relax yet.”
Deputy Team Principal Juha Kankkunen called the performance “quite surprising and impressive,” noting Pajari had been “smiling and relaxed and enjoying himself” all day.
In WRC2
Toyota also has a strong hand in the support category, where GR Yaris Rally2 drivers Teemu Suninen and Roope Korhonen sit second and third, within five seconds of the lead. TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Jaspar Vaher is fourth on his category debut on home soil, having taken his first stage win in SS3.
What’s next
Saturday is the rally’s longest day, with nine stages and 149.6 competitive kilometres (93 miles) north and south of Tartu before a super special stage beside the service park closes the running.
Source: newsroom.toyota.eu