GAZOO Racing Secures 1-2-3 Finish at 75th Rally Finland

• Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen secure second consecutive FIA World Rally Championship victory
• Oliver Solberg and Elfyn Evans complete GAZOO Racing 1-2-3 finish

Dubai, UAE – 05 August 2026: GAZOO Racing World Rally Team (GR-WRT) celebrated a home podium sweep at Rally Finland, with Sami Pajari and co-driver Marko Salminen securing victory in the No. 5 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1. Teammates Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson finished second in the No. 99 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1, while Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin completed the podium in third aboard the No. 33 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1. The result extends Toyota’s lead in the FIA World Rally Championship manufacturers’ standings to 174 points.

Akio Toyoda, GR-WRT Chairman, commented: Sami, Marko, Congratulations on your back-to-back victories and on winning your home rally! It was truly wonderful to see three of our crews standing together on the podium in Jyväskylä. It was the best possible way to thank the local fans for their incredible support. This achievement would not have been possible without the efforts of the mechanics who worked on car 33. They brought the car back to life in just 30 minutes and sent Elfyn and Scott back into the fight without any penalty.

Toyoda added: “Stories of heroic repairs by mechanics are common in the WRC, but when you hear that they replaced the front and rear bumpers, side panel, bonnet, tailgate, left headlight, and right-side door, you cannot help but be amazed by their skill. Thank you to all the mechanics for your incredible work.”

Held across the fast forest roads of central Finland, the 75th anniversary edition of Rally Finland once again delivered rapidly changing conditions, with challenging weather creating an unpredictable contest throughout the weekend.

Pajari and Salminen followed up their maiden WRC victory in Estonia with another standout performance on home roads to secure their second consecutive triumph. The result also marks the 200th victory by a Finnish driver in the FIA World Rally Championship.

Despite losing time in difficult weather conditions during the rally, Pajari and Salminen remained close to the leading pace before moving into the lead at the end of the penultimate leg. Adopting a measured approach through the rally’s two final runs of Himos-Jämsa, the longest stage of the event at 30.02 kilometres, they secured victory by 26.7 seconds.

Solberg and Edmondson claimed their second consecutive runner-up finish after overcoming the worst of the wet conditions earlier in the rally. The pair capped off the weekend by topping the Super Sunday classification.

Evans and Martin recovered after rolling during the penultimate leg to complete the podium in third place. They went on to win the rally-ending Power Stage by just 0.025 seconds while finishing second in the Super Sunday classification, extending Evans’ lead in the drivers’ championship to 30 points.

Following Rally Finland, Toyota has brought its lead in the manufacturers’ championship up to 174 points. GR-WRT crews now occupy the top five positions in the drivers’ standings, with Evans leading the championship ahead of Pajari, Katsuta, Solberg, and Ogier.

Toyota’s motorsports history dates back over 60 years. Reflecting the concept that ‘Roads build people and cars,’ Toyota has competed in a wide range of motorsport disciplines worldwide. Its major successes, achieved under the most extreme conditions, together with the hard-won knowledge and technical insights they have yielded, continue to serve as the foundation for building ‘ever-better’ cars. GAZOO Racing competes in top-level motorsport categories such as the FIA World Rally Championship, as well as in customer motorsport activities using production vehicles.

Round eleven of the 2026 FIA WRC is Rally del Paraguay (August 27-30), held on demanding stages around Encarnación near the Argentine border. The fast roads feature a red clay surface that provides changing grip levels.

Race Notes:

• No. 5 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 (Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen)
• Position: 1^st
•  2 hours, 27 minutes, and 58.0 seconds

• No. 99 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 (Solberg and Elliott Edmondson)
• Position: 2^nd  
• Time: seconds 2 hours, 28 minutes, and 24.7 seconds (+26.7s)

• No. 33 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 (Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin)
• Position: 3^rd  
• Time: seconds 2 hours, 29 minutes, and 17.5 seconds (+1m, 19.5s)