Ogier and stand-in co-driver Julien Ingrassia had led the rally since Friday morning and held a 20.9-second advantage when their Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 left the road at high speed and rolled several times during the second pass of Västilä.

Both crew members exited the car unassisted and were subsequently transported to hospital in Tampere for precautionary medical checks.

Pajari inherited the lead of his home event and completed the final Leustu stage without incident to end the day 46.4 seconds ahead of Toyota team-mate Oliver Solberg.

“Obviously, all the afternoon was about trying to manage the speed,” said Pajari, who is pursuing a second consecutive FIA World Rally Championship victory following his breakthrough win at Delfi Rally Estonia. “There are still two long stages to do and anything can still happen.”

Elfyn Evans completed Saturday in third place, 1min 36.3sec behind Pajari, after recovering from an accident of his own on the opening pass of Leustu.

The championship leader had reduced Ogier’s overnight advantage from 16.3 seconds to 11.6 seconds after winning Parkkola, but lost more than 1min 40sec when his car left the road on SS14.

Spectators helped return the damaged Toyota to the stage, allowing Evans to continue. Extensive repairs were then completed by the team during midday service, enabling him to contest the afternoon loop without incurring any penalties.

Solberg holds second place following a measured afternoon, while Adrien Fourmaux remains within reach of Evans in fourth.

Takamoto Katsuta is fifth after using Saturday’s stages to assess set-up changes ahead of Super Sunday.

Thierry Neuville moved into sixth place on the final stage and holds a 1.5-second advantage over Josh McErlean, despite suffering a front-left puncture on Västilä.

Mārtiņš Sesks also retired from Saturday’s action after rolling his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 during the opening pass of Leustu. Sesks and co-driver Renārs Francis were uninjured and are expected to restart on Sunday.

Jari-Matti Latvala leads the RC2 category and occupies eighth place overall, ahead of WRC2 contenders Teemu Suninen and Robert Virves.

Sunday’s final leg features two passes over the 30.02-kilometre Himos–Jämsä stage, with the second run forming the rally-ending Wolf Power Stage.