The brief
- The event: Secto Rally Finland is Round 10 of the 2026 WRC season, running July 30–August 2 from Jyväskylä.
- The numbers: The gravel rally contains 20 stages and 316.04 competitive kilometres.
- The test: WRC describes a high-speed event where blind crests, jumps and precise pace notes leave little margin for a small mistake.
Finland is not just another gravel rally
Rally Finland’s reputation comes from speed, but speed is only the visible part of the challenge. The official WRC guide describes smooth, flowing stages with average speeds that routinely exceed 120 km/h. Cars crest, land and change direction before a driver has much time to correct a bad instruction.
That makes the co-driver’s work unusually exposed. Accuracy and trust have to survive four days of jumps, blind crests and deceptive corners. A car can feel perfect for kilometres and still lose the rally in one moment if the pace note arrives late or the driver carries one metre too much speed.
Pajari returns home as a winner
Sami Pajari arrives after his breakthrough Rally Estonia victory, but the home-rally storyline should not be allowed to become a shortcut to a prediction. Finland asks different questions of the same Rally1 cars, and the WRC field includes championship leader Elfyn Evans, Takamoto Katsuta, Sébastien Ogier, Oliver Solberg and the Hyundai attack.
The itinerary begins in Jyväskylä and covers July 30 through August 2. The event’s 75th-anniversary framing adds atmosphere, but the competitive reality is simpler: 20 stages leave many opportunities to gain time and just as many ways to throw it away.
Pajari’s new confidence matters. So does his warning after Estonia: Finland will not be easier. The fastest rally of the year rewards bravery only when precision arrives first.