It became clear very early on that the time had come for the young drivers to dominate a World Rally Championship event. The first signs came from Sami Pajari, the young Finnish Toyota driver who established himself as a contender for victory from the outset, aiming for his first WRC win. Setting very similar times, the young Swedish driver Oliver Solberg, who won the opening round of the year in Monte Carlo, rediscovered his customary aggressiveness, after several events in which he had been unable to match the pace we had become accustomed to. Toyota now had a new group of contenders capable of maintaining its dominance, with Pajari and Solberg, leaving Sébastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta slightly further behind. At Hyundai, the situation also appeared somewhat different, with Adrien Fourmaux almost always outperforming Thierry Neuville. M-Sport Ford also made its presence felt, with the young Martins Sesks surprising everyone with a highly effective pace.
On the podium in Estonia, Toyota secured another one-two finish, with Sami Pajari taking 1st place and Oliver Solberg finishing 2nd, just 19.5 seconds behind his teammate. Hyundai claimed 3rd place with Adrien Fourmaux, who beat Thierry Neuville by just 5.9 seconds. Sébastien Ogier finished ahead of WRC leader Elfyn Evans, keeping his chances of securing a 10th title intact. On a “Super Sunday”, with fewer stages than usual, Oliver Solberg was dominant, also winning the Power Stage, while his teammate Sami Pajari celebrated his first WRC victory in emphatic fashion. After a rally held on very fast and demanding gravel roads, the championship remains highly competitive, although five Toyota drivers occupy the top five positions. Elfyn Evans remains in the lead with 177 points, followed by Takamoto Katsuta with 152, Sami Pajari now has 144, Sébastien Ogier 139 and Oliver Solberg 130, all driving Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 cars. The highest-placed Hyundai drivers are 6th in the championship, with Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux both on 111 points. In the manufacturers’ standings, Toyota’s dominance continues to grow, with 464 points, while Hyundai has 308.
The WRC2 category featured a tremendous battle between the top three drivers, who fought for victory until the final kilometres. Victory went to Robert Virves in the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, who beat Teemu Suninen’s Toyota by 7.6 seconds and Roope Korhonen’s Toyota by 8.8 seconds, in a consistently thrilling contest. The next event is Rally Finland, which takes place from 30 July to 2 August.