DOLGALLAU’S Elfyn Evans strengthened his bid for a maiden FIA World Rally Championship title with a hard-fought podium finish at Rally Finland, despite suffering a costly roll that denied him the chance to challenge for victory.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver and co-driver Scott Martin finished third behind team-mate Sami Pajari, who claimed a memorable home victory to become the first Finnish winner of Rally Finland since 2017.

For Evans, the weekend was a mixture of frustration and determination. The Welshman had been running second overall and firmly in the fight for victory before rolling his GR Yaris Rally1 at the end of Saturday morning's action. Although the incident cost valuable time, Toyota's mechanics worked quickly to repair the damaged car and get Evans back out for the afternoon stages.

Their efforts were rewarded as Evans fought his way back onto the podium, ensuring he left Finland with a healthy haul of championship points.

The result was made even sweeter on Sunday when Evans produced one of the drives of the day. He finished second in the Super Sunday classification and edged Oliver Solberg by just 0.025 seconds to win the Power Stage, collecting maximum bonus points and extending his lead at the top of the drivers' standings to 30 points.

While Evans salvaged an excellent result, the weekend belonged to Toyota team-mate Pajari. The 24-year-old, alongside co-driver Marko Salminen, followed up his maiden WRC victory in Estonia two weeks earlier with another superb success on home roads.

Pajari inherited the lead late on Saturday following the retirement of eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia, who crashed heavily after leading much of the rally. Both were kept in hospital overnight for observation before being released.

Having built a healthy advantage, Pajari drove sensibly through Sunday's closing stages to secure victory by 26.7 seconds. The triumph marked the 200th WRC victory by a Finnish driver and was a fitting result in the 75th anniversary edition of the iconic rally.

Solberg and co-driver Elliott Edmondson finished second for the second event in succession, overcoming difficult weather conditions and a back injury sustained after a heavy landing.

Evans' third-place finish completed a Toyota podium lockout and ensured he remains firmly in control of the championship race heading into the closing rounds of the season.

"I'm happy to finish on the podium, but I owe this one to the team who fixed the car in service yesterday after my mistake," said Evans.

"Super Sunday was fast-paced as usual. I maybe wasn't brave enough on the first pass and tried to do more on the second pass. The grip was much higher and maybe I didn't use it all, but I'm happy with the points we could take away.”