Sami Pajari remains firmly in the fight for the FIA World Rally Championship title. A dramatic final day at Rally Chile played into the Finn’s hands as championship leader Elfyn Evans suffered a puncture and dropped from second to fifth. Pajari moved up to fourth and reduced the gap to the championship lead to 17 points.
Pajari arrived in Chile 20 points behind Evans after winning the previous three WRC rounds in Estonia, Secto Rally Finland and Paraguay. He was unable to quite match that pace in Chile, but fourth place kept the Finn firmly in contention for the world title.
With two rounds remaining in Italy and Saudi Arabia, Evans continues to lead the standings, but Pajari is not the only driver still in the hunt. Rally Chile winner Oliver Solberg moved to within 21 points of Evans and sits just four points behind Pajari.
Solberg and co-driver Elliott Edmondson claimed victory in Chile after leading for much of the weekend. The Toyota crew finished 16.6 seconds ahead of Sébastien Ogier, while Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux completed the podium.
Lassila claims maiden Junior WRC victory
There was more Finnish success in Chile in the Junior WRC category. 2024 Flying Finn Future Star winner Leevi Lassila and co-driver Mikko Lukka delivered an impressive performance to take victory in the season finale.
Worldwide Copyright: McKlein
Lassila’s weekend was not without drama, as the Finn rolled his car on Saturday. The car remained competitive, however, and on Sunday Lassila fought his way back into the lead to secure his maiden Junior WRC victory by an impressive margin of 1min 20.3sec.
The victory lifted Lassila to second in the final Junior WRC standings with 107 points. Türkiye’s Ali Türkkan secured the drivers’ championship after finishing second in Chile, ending the season with 120 points.
There was further Finnish reason to celebrate as Mikko Lukka secured the Junior WRC co-drivers’ world championship. Türkkan competed with different co-drivers during the season, meaning the drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles went to different crews this year.
Toyota seals another world title
Rally Chile also marked another major milestone for Toyota GAZOO Racing, which secured the manufacturers’ world championship with two rounds still remaining.
The title is Toyota’s sixth consecutive manufacturers’ crown and its tenth overall in the FIA World Rally Championship. The achievement also moves Toyota level with Lancia at the top of the all-time list for manufacturers’ titles.
The FIA World Rally Championship continues with Rally Italia Sardegna on 1–4 October. The title fight remains wide open: Evans leads the standings, with Pajari 17 points behind and Solberg 21 points off the championship lead.
