Rising World Rally Championship star Sami Pajari says scoring a first stage win on his top-flight debut at Rally Finland has surpassed his expectations for this weekend.

Toyota has handed the WRC2 title contender an opportunity to showcase his skills by piloting a fifth GR Yaris at the team’s home event.

Pajari’s rally hopes suffered a dent in Friday’s opening stage [Laukaa] when he suffered a half spin before understeering into a ditch in treacherous conditions that caused significant damage to his GR Yaris’ rear wing.

However, the Finn was able to navigate through the morning loop before setting an impressive pace across the afternoon with a fully repaired car.

Pajari and co-driver Enni Malkonen clocked a second fastest stage time on stage six before delivering a stunning milestone effort to claim stage nine [Ruuhimaki] to complete an impressive turnaround. Pajari took the stage win by 0.5s from team-mate and eight-time world champion Sebastien Ogier. 

“I thought before the rally that [a stage win] would be nice but I thought it would be like too much, so I was not expecting anything like this,” said Pajari, who ended Friday sitting sixth overall.

“It means quite a lot. Obviously, the afternoon was really good and already on the first stage I was second fastest and only Kalle [Rovanpera] was faster there. But when the conditions were something like what I am used to it [the speed] was coming in a natural way.

“Even on this Ruuhimaki stage I was not planning to do a stage win but it was a clean drive, and I was enjoying it. I’m not going to say it was easy or something like this, but I wasn’t pushing like crazy.

“The morning was something so difficult. If you look at the front guys, even many of them made some mistakes in the morning loop. For sure, the conditions were really tricky and tough and something which we do not face so often at Rally Finland. I think it was just pure lack of experience for me.”

Sami Pajari, Enni Mälkönen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

To put Pajari’s feat into context it took Rally Finland leader and two-time world champion Rovanpera 25 attempts to claim a maiden WRC stage win. Out of the current WRC drivers only Ogier has achieved a fastest time in the top class quicker when the Frenchman won his second-ever stage in the top tier at Rally GB in 2008.

Pajari’s triumph arrives just two weeks after Martins Sesks chalked up his first WRC stage win in only his second Rally1 appearance.

When asked about Pajari’s stage win, team-mate Rovanpera added: “If you do your first stage win in your first rally with the top car it is a proper job and Ruuhimaki is not an easy stage, so really well done.”

Toyota sporting director Kaj Lindstrom declared Pajari’s stage win as the “cherry on the cake” but was just as impressed by the way the young driver handled his recovery following his stage two excursion.

“I would say that he showed that he’s mature enough to handle this kind of situation,” said Lindstrom. It was a difficult start but he was able to reset and was calm enough to bring the car home like we asked him to. He went out in the afternoon and drove really well. I think the stage win was like the cherry on the cake.

“It is always impressive to see the new driver coming in and with less experience to do it. It is great to see these new up-and-coming stars like [Martins] Sesks and Sami.”

Ott Tanak has crashed out of Rally Finland in an incident that briefly red flagged stage three of the World Rally Championship gravel rally on Friday morning.

The Hyundai driver went off the road just over two kilometres into the brand new Sarrikas test [15.93km] which was held in wet conditions. Tanak and co-driver Mattin Jarveoja were sitting in sixth overall after the morning’s first test.

Television pictures did show the i20 N had come to rest on its side. The car lost control mid corner which resulted in a roll with the car then colliding with a tree. 

Officials immediately red flagged the stage to allow medical crews to attend to the scene. It has been reported that Tanak and Jarveoja were being checked over by medical staff before heading to hospital for precautionary checks.

An update from WRC stated: “The crew of competitor car #8, Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja went off the road at high speed around 2km into SS3. The crew exited the Hyundai i20 N and have been taken to the nearest hospital for precautionary checks.”

A further statement from Hyundai read: “Ott is ok, however Martin will be taken to hospital for further checks. We will provide more updates when possible.”

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Vincent Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville was the only car to pass through the stage before it was halted. The Belgian’s run was not without issue after he misjudged a junction which resulted in his i20 N running straight onto the grass.

“The grip was a little bit more constant but I went straight on a junction, there was a blind corner over a crest, my pace note clearly didn’t read a junction and we went straight onto the grass,” said Neuville.

Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier headed into the stage with the rally lead by a second from team-mate Kalle Rovanpera after setting the second fastest time on stage two.

Elfyn Evans climbed to third after winning stage two as Takamoto Katsuta completed a Toyota 1-2-3-4.

Stage three was restarted after a 19-minute delay.

World Rally Championship drivers have voiced their concerns over the GPS system that will warn crews to slow down for virtual chicanes, which will make its competitive debut at Rally Finland.

Event organisers have introduced a virtual chicane in the shakedown and Ouninpohja stages at this weekend’s gravel rally that marks the ninth round of the championship.

A virtual chicane provides a way to slow cars down ahead of a challenging section without organisers placing a physical obstacle for drivers to navigate around. Instead of using heavy hay bales to mark out a chicane, organisers can now designate predetermined areas where drivers are required to slow to 60km/h.

Drivers will be warned of the virtual chicane with arches counting down from 300 metres prior to the zone. This will also be replicated on the GPS tracker box located toward the bottom of the centre console in the cars, which will also highlight the car’s speed and flash green when 60km/h is reached.

The system was tested in Latvia, but after passing through the virtual chicane in Thursday morning’s shakedown, drivers were concerned by the fact they have to avert their gaze from the road to look at the tracker box to ensure they don’t incur a two-second penalty for every km/h over the set figure.

When asked if he was happy with the system, Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi, who topped shakedown, said: “No, this system they have provided is very bad.

“They [the FIA] could make it easily more safe and more efficient, but they don’t want to. I have to take my eyes off the road and look for a green light. In shakedown it is fine as you have low speed, but in Ouninpohja you will arrive at this place at 185km/h, I don’t want to take my eyes off the road. It’s a bad system.”

Toyota’s Elfyn Evans echoed Lappi’s view, adding: “I don’t think it’s particularly consistent and I think what I found as well is that your eyes are not on the road at all.”

Sébastien Ogier, Vincent Landais, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Eight-time world champion Sebastien Ogier suggested that a radar system being used in the Finnish Rally Championship could offer a more reliable solution.

“The little question mark I have is regarding the reliability of the GPS signal and the fact that we are a bit dependent of technology. We are fighting these days for nothing sometimes and I lost a rally recently by 0.2 seconds,” said Ogier.

“I heard that in Finnish Championship they are using a radar and with a board, and if the board turns green, then you can go. It looks like a better idea and more reliable.

“So maybe that could be an idea to think about for the future, especially as with this option, you keep your eyes on the road and with the one we have we are forced to look in the cockpit, which is not really good regarding safety.”

Speaking after the virtual chicane test in Latvia, FIA rally safety delegate Nicolas Klinger said that tracker boss is clearly visible to both driver and co-driver.

“The system is easy. You have a warning on the tracking box at 300 metres, 200 metres and 100 metres,” said Klinger. “Like when there is red flag in the stage the screen will turn to red. The driver will slow down until you hit the right speed and it goes green and you start, and then when you pass through the section you drive normally again.

“The tracker has been used for a long time for safety reasons, and showing red flags, for sure it is visible and also you have the co-driver there.”

Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1

Photo by: M-Sport

While teams and drivers understand the safety reasons behind the implementation of virtual chicanes, M-Sport’s team principal Richard Millener feels the penalty for speeding through the section is too severe.

“The penalty is incredibly harsh and let’s see how that works out in reality,” Millener told Autosport/Motorsport.com.

“On paper, for me, it’s probably too much, it is the most excessive penalty you can get in terms of time in rallying basically. It’s two seconds for every kilometre an hour you are over.

“If you have an issue or you have something that goes wrong, or someone have a freak thing that happens, if you go through there 20 kilometres over, your rally is over basically.”

The World Rally Championship will introduce virtual chicanes for the first time in competition at Rally Finland, in a move that has helped re-introduce the legendary Ouninpohja stage.

The advancement in technology has seen virtual chicanes become more prevalent in rallying with the system already being used in various championships including the European Rally Championship at Rally di Roma.

This weekend will see the concept graduate to the WRC following a test of the system during shakedown at Rally Latvia earlier this month.

A virtual chicane provides a way to slow cars down ahead of a challenging section without organisers placing a physical obstacle for drivers to navigate around. Instead of using heavy hay bales to mark out a chicane, organisers can now designate predetermined areas where drivers are required to slow town o 60kph.

Virtual chicanes will be deployed again in shakedown in Finland and will feature in the Ouninpohja stage, which will be run twice as stage 13 and stage 16 on Saturday. Ouninpohja returns for the first time since 2016 and is being run in the legendary 33-kilometre ‘long’ format but in the opposite direction this year.

The stage is among the most famous in WRC history, known for its high-speed jumps and its challenging sweeping corners and its return can be credited to the introduction of virtual chicanes.

“It was great for the organisers to ask about it [Ouninpohja’s return],” Nicolas Klinger FIA rally safety delegate told Motorsport.com.

“They wanted Ouninpohja and to run it again, but for sure we know it is very fast. It is not about the fast straights it [the virtual chicanes] are to avoid entering a dodgy corner that is fast to lower the risk a bit.”

Virtual chicane

Photo by: WRC.com

Why are virtual chicanes being introduced?

As Klinger explained above one of the reasons why virtual chicanes have been introduced is due to safety. The concept reduces the speed of cars prior to a challenging section of road and does so in a way that further reduces the risk without using physical objects that could cause collisions and cause damage to vehicles.

However, the advancement in technology to enable event organisers to adopt such a system coupled with struggles to source hay bales to designate chicanes has also played a part in the rise of virtual chicanes in rallies across the world.

“In some countries, they can’t have straw bales and it has become more and more difficult to get straw bales. Straw bales weigh 400kg and you need to move them, and also sometimes roads can be very narrow, so you can’t implement the chicane just because of the width of the road,” Klinger added.

«So, this is one of the reasons and I have to say that technology has changed, and it now allows us to do virtual chicanes. It is something which is run in Australia, in Netherlands, in Germany, in Italy as well, so it’s not something new. It is just using the technology that we didn’t have before.

“For sure [safety is factor] because in the future that will help us and allow us to do other things and go into other stages where we are not allowed to go.

“There is also a sporting side as everybody is slowing down to the same speed [for the virtual chicane] so you won’t have someone who comes and pushes the straw bales and then the following car can go 20kph faster and take advantage.

“In Latvia, it was not a test for us. We know that it works it has been tested and in other countries, it was more for the drivers.”

Virtual chicane

Photo by: WRC.com

How will the virtual chicanes work?

Rally crews will see signs counting down to the virtual chicanes during the stage with the stage side markers counting down from 300 metres down to 100 metres before the virtual chicane zone begins. These warnings will also appear on the tracking box located in the cockpit of the car, the device which also flashes up red flag warnings during stages.

The car must slow down to a maximum of 60kph within the 200-metre zone prior to the virtual chicane. The tracking box will show a green light when the correct speed is reached. Once that speed is achieved the vehicle can accelerate again.

Failing to decelerate to 60kph will incur a penalty of two seconds per every kph over the limit and will be added to the overall stage time.

Virtual chicane

Photo by: WRC.com