Sami Pajari completed his first rally at the wheel of a hybrid Rally1 car, the technological pinnacle of the WRC, in fourth place overall, also taking the honours of setting the fastest time on SS9 of Rally Finland.
The 22-year-old Finn, co-driven by Enni Malkonen, was able to react very well to the mistake he made at the start of the second day of racing, when he ended up crashing into a tree, breaking his rear wing.
This inconvenience forced him to take part in Friday’s morning lap tests with his right foot barely touching the accelerator, not having the necessary aerodynamic load to exploit where it was needed.
In the afternoon, then, after the Service, things changed. With a restored car, Pajari was able to push, showing very interesting times right away. Beyond the special victory in PS9, he showed the best things between Saturday and Sunday, when he did not benefit from an advantageous starting position as he had on Friday.
After the event, Toyota Gazoo Racing team principal Jari-Matti Latvala spoke to Motorsport.com about Pajari’s race, saying he was very pleased with what his young talent showed.
“Sami did a great job. The start of the first stage was difficult, not so promising, but the way he managed to put his thoughts in order was excellent, because then he started to get very competitive times, including the best in SS9.”
Sami Pajari, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images
“Pajari is very strong mentally, which is a very nice thing to see. I think he has shown his potential to become, let’s say, a full-time driver in a Rally1 car.”
In this regard, the present will still be focused on WRC2. Toyota wants Pajari to try to win the championship against Oliver Solberg, the current leader of the category. From next year, however, Sami will be considered for the official team fighting for the world titles.
“At the moment he will still focus on WRC2, because we want him to try to fight for the championship. He still has a chance and we want him to focus on that. But of course we are talking about what to do with him for next season.”
“Of course Sami is an option for us next year. We have to evaluate and think about it,” Latvala concluded.
Toyota, from 2025, will have Kalle Rovanpera available again for the entire season after this one that he is spending part time to recover mental energy. It is easy to think, therefore, that Pajari could take Rovanpera’s place in the rotations on the third Toyota GR Yaris, sharing it with Sébastien Ogier if he wants to continue racing in the WRC.
However, a question mark remains. With Rovanpera returning to the starting lineup and Pajari a possible rotation driver, who will have to give up the wheel of the GR Yaris? Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta are the two starters for the entire 2024 season, so one of the two will see his status removed or modified.
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