Finnish driver Sami Pajari of Toyota caused a major surprise by winning the Rally Estonia on Sunday, while World Rally Championship leader, Briton Elfyn Evans (Toyota), strengthened his lead at the expense of Frenchman Sébastien Ogier.

Similar to Swede Oliver Solberg, who surprisingly won the 2025 edition, the rally crowned an unexpected champion; Pajari, the 2024 WRC2 champion, achieved his first victory in the top category of the world championship.

The Finnish driver won 12 of the 18 special stages, including the first nine, before managing his lead steadily to finish the rally 19 seconds ahead of Solberg.

With this win, 24-year-old Pajari moved up to third in the overall championship standings, establishing himself as a serious contender for the title.

This achievement crowned a remarkable season for the driver ranked fifth in the Toyota team order, having previously climbed the podium five times in the first eight rounds, finishing runner-up once and third four times.

Pajari said after celebrating his victory on the roof of his Yaris car: "It's an amazing feeling. I still can't believe what happened. I am very grateful to Toyota and to everyone who supported me, even in difficult times. I knew this win was coming soon, and now it's here. It's incredible."

Despite having to open the road on Friday, Evans finished the rally in sixth place and extended his championship lead, benefiting from the retirement of Japanese driver Takamoto Katsuta, increasing the gap between them to 25 points.

The Welshman said: "Things went well today although some sections were tough. It was a complicated week because opening the road on the first day made it difficult to make up positions later, but that's part of the game."

For his part, Ogier limited the damage in a rally he had not contested in years, but he lost an additional point to Evans, who now leads him by 38 points in the overall standings.

The Frenchman said: "I lacked a bit of experience here after five years away. It wasn't a bad week. We did what we could. We enjoyed it a lot, but we could have performed better. At least we came away with some points."

Ogier (42 years old) will need a better result in two weeks at Rally Finland, which features fast roads similar to Rally Estonia, if he wants to keep his dream of a tenth world title alive.

In a battle away from the title fight, Frenchman Adrien Fourmaux outperformed his Hyundai teammate, Belgian Thierry Neuville, to take third place and secure his 11th career podium in the World Rally Championship.