Sébastien Ogier mastered torrential rain and rapidly changing conditions to take control of Rally Finland, while Australian Taylor Gill ended Friday 28th outright and 17th among the WRC2 contenders.
Ogier and returning co-driver Julien Ingrassia produced an almost faultless performance through one of the most unpredictable days of the World Rally Championship season to establish a 16.3-second lead over championship leader Elfyn Evans.
The Frenchman won three of Friday morning’s four forest stages before surviving torrential rain, standing water and deteriorating visibility as the weather transformed the afternoon running around Jyväskylä.
Evans climbed from fifth to second as the conditions shuffled the order, while Finnish favourite Sami Pajari completed an all-Toyota top three, 26.7s from the lead.
Oliver Solberg made it four Toyota GR Yaris Rally1s in the top four, sitting 41.3s behind Ogier.
Ogier takes control
Ogier began Friday only 1.2s behind overnight leader Adrien Fourmaux, but immediately took charge with a commanding performance through Laukaa.
He followed that with further stage wins on Sydänmaa and Hoho to reach midday service 5.3s clear of Fourmaux, with Pajari just another 2.7s behind.
The afternoon initially appeared destined to produce a three-way battle.
Pajari won the second pass through Laukaa to reduce Ogier’s advantage to 5.4s before the weather turned the rally on its head at Saarikas.
Evans, running first on the road, escaped the worst of a torrential downpour and set the fastest time.
Those starting further back were not so fortunate as standing water increased and visibility deteriorated sharply.
Fourmaux lost almost 90 seconds, while Solberg surrendered 55.6s as water poured into his Toyota.
Ogier managed the conditions considerably better, conceding only 6.5s and, crucially, just 2.1s to Pajari.
“Bad luck, but that is the way it is with the weather,” Ogier said.
“Compared to Sami, we did a good job.”
There was more drama on the following Sydänmaa test when Ogier survived a wild slide into a ditch.
Despite the moment, he still finished the stage 30.2s faster than Pajari, whose challenge was wrecked when the blower in his Toyota stopped working and the windscreen misted heavily.
That gave Ogier breathing space at the front and he carried the advantage through the remainder of the day.
“It’s been a very good day,” Ogier said.
“It was very tricky this afternoon and probably not so enjoyable for anybody, but it’s good that we managed to come out of it.”
Sami Pajari flies past the Finnish fans during Friday at Rally Finland, where the Toyota driver finished the day third overall. Image: Red Bull Content Pool
Evans emerges from weather lottery
Evans’ climb to second represented a strong recovery after spending the day sweeping the road for those behind.
The Welshman had slipped as low as fifth and briefly visited the bushes on the first pass through Hoho, but his early starting position suddenly became an advantage when the rain arrived.
“The morning wasn’t bad from our side, but the afternoon was a bit of a lottery,” Evans said.
“We had it better on the second stage of the loop, but then probably had the worst of it on the next. I’m happy to get through it.”
Pajari remained firmly in podium contention, although he conceded the windscreen problem had effectively ended his hopes of fighting Ogier for the win.
“We lost the game for the win on that one stage,” Pajari said.
“The blower wasn’t working and we didn’t realise it, so we had full mist on the windscreen.
“It’s a big shame, but we are still fighting for the podium.”
Australian Taylor Gill and co-driver Daniel Brkic charge through Friday’s stages of Rally Finland in their Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. Image: Red Bull Content Pool
Gill battles through difficult opening day
Australian Taylor Gill and co-driver Daniel Brkic reached the end of Friday 28th outright in their Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 and 17th among the WRC2-registered crews.
It leaves the Finnish-based Australians with work to do after entering the event targeting a top-five result in one of the deepest WRC2 fields of the season.
Gill is contesting his third WRC2 event of 2026 after finishing fourth on debut in Sweden and ninth in Croatia, where he also claimed his maiden WRC2 stage victory.
Finland is familiar territory for Gill and Brkic, who have spent much of their European rally careers based in the country and enjoyed considerable success on its fast gravel roads in Rally3 machinery.
Saturday’s long leg will give the pair plenty of opportunity to recover positions, with more than 120 competitive kilometres remaining.
Toyota dominates the front
Behind the leading trio, Solberg recovered from his difficult Saarikas run to hold fourth, 14.6s behind Pajari.
Mārtiņš Sesks emerged from Friday’s chaos as the leading M-Sport Ford driver in fifth, 1m04.9s behind Ogier and 23.6s behind Solberg.
Fourmaux’s promising start unravelled in the rain, the Hyundai driver dropping from second to sixth after being caught in some of the worst conditions of the afternoon.
Josh McErlean reached the overnight halt seventh despite also battling a heavily misted windscreen.
Takamoto Katsuta endured what he described as a “disaster day” and sits eighth, narrowly ahead of Thierry Neuville.
Neuville’s rally was badly compromised when he struck a hidden rock on the morning run through Hoho, damaging the front-left suspension of his Hyundai and costing almost three minutes.
Esapekka Lappi and Jon Armstrong were Friday’s major retirements.
Lappi will not restart after his Hyundai suffered roll cage damage in a crash on Sydänmaa, while Armstrong’s Ford Puma Rally1 became stranded in a ditch on Saarikas.
Saturday is the longest day of Rally Finland, featuring two runs each through Parkola, Päijälä, Västilä and Leustu and 123.3km of competitive running.
Adrien Fourmaux attacks the Finnish gravel in his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 during Friday at Rally Finland, before losing significant time in the afternoon rain. Image: Red Bull Content Pool
Rally Finland after Friday
Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia – Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 – 1:03:47.4
Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin – Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 – +16.3s
Sami Pajari / Marko Salminen – Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 – +26.7s
Oliver Solberg / Elliott Edmondson – Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 – +41.3s
Mārtiņš Sesks / Renārs Francis – Ford Puma Rally1 – +1m04.9s
Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria – Hyundai i20 N Rally1 – +1m24.0s
Australian: Taylor Gill / Daniel Brkic – Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – 28th outright, 17th WRC2.
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