Oliver Solberg competes at the 2026 WRC Safari Rally/ WRC
Day two of the 2026 World Rally Championship (WRC) Safari Rally served up high drama with youngster Sami Pajari producing a stunning four-stage win while Oliver Solberg once again ended the day perched at the top of the leaderboard heading into Saturday’s action.
The second leg of the legendary Safari, however, began on shaky ground after the opening stage, SS3 Camp Moran 2, was cancelled following a heavy downpour on Wednesday night that worsened road conditions and rendered the section impassable.
When the rally finally roared into life at SS4 Loldia 1, nine-time world champion Sébastien Ogier wasted no time laying down a marker, clocking the fastest time of 14:18.8.
Pajari followed closely in 14:21.3, while Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top three with 14:21.8.
Pajari then stamped his authority on the next stage, SS5 KenGen Geothermal, storming to victory in 6:53.3 ahead of Ogier (6:56.3) and Elfyn Evans (7:01.8).
The flying Finn carried that momentum into the final test of the morning loop, SS6 Kedong 1, once again topping the timesheets with a scorching 6:22.6.
His Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Takamoto Katsuta followed in second with 6:26.2, while Thierry Neuville expertly guided his Hyundai Motorsport machine to third in 6:28.1.
The afternoon loop burst into life at SS7 Kedong 2 where Ogier fought back, powering to victory in 6:24.4 ahead of Pajari (6:25.4) and Hyundai’s Fourmaux (6:26.0).
Pajari, however, was far from done, returning fire at SS8 KenGen Geothermal 2, clocking 6:50.2 to secure his third stage win of the day, with Ogier (6:53.4) and Neuville (6:53.5) chasing in his wake.
The longest test of the day, SS9 Loldia 2 (18.95km), went the way of Ogier in 14:14.1, though Solberg kept the pressure firmly on, finishing just three-tenths back in 14:14.4 alongside Fourmaux who matched the exact time.
But the final say belonged to Pajari who claimed the closing stage, SS10 Mzabibu 2 timing 7:07.8.
Solberg followed in 7:10.5 while Ogier completed the top three with 7:10.8.
Despite Pajari’s fireworks across the stages, it is Solberg who heads into Saturday’s action as the overnight leader once again with a cumulative time of 1:33:50.2.
Ogier sits second, breathing down his neck just one second adrift (1:33:51.2), while Evans holds third overall on 1:34:10.7.
Pajari occupies fourth in the general classification with a total time of 1:35:00.7, capping a dominant showing for Toyota as the Japanese manufacturer locks out the top four spots on the leaderboard.
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