Analysis
Pajari gains on Evans after challenging Rally Chile
Finnish driver Sami Pajari closed the WRC championship gap to leader Elfyn Evans despite a difficult Rally Chile. Oliver Solberg also gains.
Finnish driver Sami Pajari gained valuable championship points on Elfyn Evans during Rally Chile, despite struggling with pace earlier in the event. This result narrows the gap at the top of the World Rally Championship standings as the season enters its final four rounds.
Championship Standings Tighten
Elfyn Evans, driving for Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, maintained his lead in the World Rally Championship standings but saw his advantage over Sami Pajari reduced. Following Rally Chile, Evans holds 201 points, with Pajari moving to 171 points, a deficit of 30. Oliver Solberg, who won Rally Chile, now sits on 156 points, placing him just 15 points behind Pajari and firmly within championship contention. Takamoto Katsuta is currently third with 160 points, and Sébastien Ogier is fifth with 139 points.
Pajari's Rally Chile Performance
Pajari, driving for Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, experienced a challenging Rally Chile, particularly during the early stages. He struggled to find competitive pace on Friday, which resulted in a significant time deficit to the leaders. RallyJournal reported that Pajari acknowledged his difficulties, stating, “I’m still not completely happy with what I did on Friday. For some reason, I couldn’t match the others’ pace.” He suggested that his reduced pace could be attributed to a combination of factors, including car setup, track conditions, or a conscious decision to drive more cautiously, potentially expecting more challenging conditions than materialized.
His fortunes improved on Sunday after Evans suffered a puncture on the penultimate stage, causing the Welshman to drop from second to fifth place. This incident elevated Pajari to fourth in the final standings, securing crucial championship points. Pajari reflected on the turn of events, remarking, “I actually spoke with Elfyn and Scott [Martin, co-driver] about how, for example, I lost wins in Croatia and Kenya because of punctures, and now it was their turn to experience the same. Perhaps each of us has had some bad luck at some point this season.” Despite the initial struggles, Pajari expressed satisfaction with his Sunday performance, stating, “Today, however, I think we did a pretty good job and more or less everything we could. We have to be satisfied with that, and we actually closed the gap to Elfyn.”
Looking Ahead
With four rounds remaining in the 2026 WRC season, the championship battle remains intense. Pajari acknowledged the difficulty of the upcoming rallies, especially with Solberg's strong performance in Chile bringing him closer to the front. RallyJournal quoted Pajari as saying, “This wasn’t the best possible result, but it wasn’t the worst either. We have to be realistic. We are definitely still in the fight, and nothing has been lost yet.” He concluded, “The next couple of rallies will be really difficult, though, especially with the fight against Elfyn and Oliver also so close.” The championship contenders will next face the challenge of the Rally Central Europe in October, followed by Japan in November. The competitive landscape suggests a thrilling conclusion to the season.
Status And Sources
This story is labelled Analysis, which means this is our reading of facts that are already established. The rules behind those labels are in the editorial policy, and the desk that published it is Sanni Koskela.
Written from the following reporting. Each link goes to the newsroom's own page, not to an aggregator:
- RallyJournalrallyjournal.com
