Championship leader Elfyn Evans crashed his Toyota on Saturday but was able to continue, and he extended his lead at the top of the World Rally Championship standings to 30 points as Toyota team-mate Sami Pajari won his home event in Finland. Evans and co-driver Scott Martin finished in third place for Toyota despite a roll on Saturday, which ended their chances of victory, and they hold a healthy margin with four rounds remaining.
The 37-year-old, who has been a runner-up in the WRC five times, lost two minutes when he ran wide on a corner, rolled and got stuck in a ditch on the 14th stage of 20 in the rally. With the help of spectators - including his dad, former rally driver Gwyndaf, who just happened to be spectating near where he crashed - Evans was able to return to service where Toyota mechanics repairs his GR Yaris.
“A surreal set of circumstances, but we owe the guys who fixed the car because without them the rally would have been over,” Evans said after completing the rally.
“Thank you very much guys, we always know we can depend on you”.
Why is Rally Finland so significant?
Rally Finland is famed for its fast gravel roads and high-speed jumps.
After he took his first win in Estonia, Pajari made it back-to-back WRC victories to move into second in the standings behind Evans. Pajari was the beneficiary when nine-time champion Sebastien Ogier crashed out of the lead on Saturday's penultimate stage on a high-speed right-hand corner on the fast gravel roads.
Both Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia were taken to hospital after the accident but the French driver posted on social media on Saturday night that the pair would remain in hospital overnight as a precaution but “we both feel okay, which is the most important”.
Oliver Solberg, who was battling back pain on the fast jumps on the stages, and co-driver Elliott Edmondson finished in second place to complete a Toyota lock-out of the podium places. The Hyundai duo of Adrien Fourmaux and Thierry Neuville were fourth and fifth, while Takamoto Katsuta and Northern Ireland co-driver Aaron Johnston crashed into trees on the final stage but recovered to finish in sixth place.
After the issues for Katsuta and Ogier, Pajari is now second in the standings behind Evans ahead 11th round of the season in Paraguay from 27-30 August.
How did the Irish drivers fare?
Motorsport Ireland driver Josh McErlean finished the rally in seventh position as the best of the M-Sport Ford drivers. Team-mate Martins Sesks crashed heavily on Saturday to drop out of fifth place, while Jon Armstrong's chances of a strong result came to an end on Friday after he spun and got stuck in a ditch.
“It's been a crazy weekend in terms of all the crews,” McErlean said.
“A lot of new stages, a lot of new pace notes and whenever you come to a rally this fast it is super-difficult to get right.
“So we have to be pleased to get through cleanly”.
What were the final rally results?
Sami Pajari FIN/Marko Salminen FIN (Toyota) won in 2:27.358.0, with Oliver Solberg SWE/Elliott Edmundson GB (Toyota) second at +26.7 seconds and Elfyn Evans GB/Scott Martin GB (Toyota) third at +1:19.5. Adrien Fourmaux FRA/Alex Coria FRA (Hyundai) finished fourth at +1:35.4, Thierry Neuville BEL/Martijn Wydaeghe BEL (Hyundai) fifth at +3:52.5, Takamoto Katsuta JPN/Aaron Johnston IRL (Toyota) sixth at +4:18.2 and Josh McErlean IRL/Eoin Treacy IRL (M-Sport Ford) seventh at +4:32.7.
Martins Sesks LAT/Francis Renars LAT (M-Sport Ford) finished 43rd at +51:52.4, while Jon Armstrong IRL/Shane Byrne IRL (M-Sport Ford) was 47th at +1:21.39.6. Sebastien Ogier FRA/Julian Ingrassia FRA (Toyota) did not finish, and Esapekka Lappi FIN/Enni Malkonen FIN (Hyundai) also did not finish.
How does the championship look now?
World Rally Championship standings after round 10/14 show Elfyn Evans GB (Toyota) leading on 201 points, with Sami Pajari FIN (Toyota) second on 171. Takamoto Katsuta JPN (Toyota) is third on 160, Oliver Solberg SWE (Toyota) fourth on 156, Sebastien Ogier FRA (Toyota) fifth on 139, Adrien Fourmaux FRA (Hyundai) sixth on 129, Thierry Neuville BEL (Hyundai) seventh on 125, Esapekka Lappi FIN (Hyundai) eighth on 25, Hayden Paddon NZL (Hyundai) ninth on 21 and Josh McErlean IRL (M-Sport Ford) tenth on 21.
With four rounds remaining, Evans holds a 30-point lead at the top, while Pajari has moved into second place after his victory in Finland. The 11th round of the season takes place in Paraguay from 27-30 August.
