Sami Pajari continues to dominate the Rally Estonia, although Oliver Solberg has broken his streak of winning stages with two victories this Saturday. Pajari remains the driver to beat after winning all seven stages on Friday, demonstrating his superiority with the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.
After a very strong start to the day, Pajari won the first two stages on Saturday, extending his lead over Solberg to 17.6 seconds. However, Solberg made a positive change to his vehicle’s setup, managing to reduce the difference in stages 10 and 11, with a notable victory in the second.
Solberg gained 3.3 seconds on Pajari in stage 10 and won stage 11 by just 0.2 seconds. These victories allowed him to close the gap to 14.1 seconds by the end of the morning. Pajari acknowledged being alert to Solberg’s increasing speed: ‘Oliver was extremely fast. We need to keep pressing to avoid losing our advantage.’
The battle for third place complicates
On other fronts, Adrien Fourmaux holds third place for Hyundai, despite experiencing a scare in stage 10 when he collided with a safety device. With a right to a fast third-place finish in earlier stages, he ended up with a flat tire, allowing Thierry Neuville to reduce his gap to just 5.6 seconds.
At the same time, the reigning world champion, Sébastien Ogier, did not have a good day, finishing 19.8 seconds behind Neuville. He admitted that he couldn’t increase his speed through the fast sections of the forest.
Evans, championship leader, gains positions
The championship leader, Elfyn Evans, was the fastest during the round, gaining positions after starting the day in ninth place. Evans climbed to seventh, with Josh McErlean retiring due to a problem with his Ford Puma, which cleared the way for him.
With five stages ahead, the competition remains intense and the battle between Pajari and Solberg promises more excitement as the Rally Estonia nears its conclusion.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
