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Pajari proving he can regularly challenge the WRC’s elite
Sami Pajari believes he is “getting to a place where he can basically fight with anyone in any condition” after scoring back-to-back outright podium finishes for the first time in the WRC.
The Toyota driver clinched a third career WRC podium after he and co-driver Marko Salminen emerged from a gruelling Safari Rally Kenya in third, behind eventual winner Takamoto Katsuta and second-placed Adrien Fourmaux.
Pajari delivered arguably his best drive to date in Kenya, showcasing both speed and the ability to navigate some of the toughest conditions without incurring terminal mechanical issues on his GR Yaris. The Finn scored five stage wins during the rally and was only beaten on the fastest-time tally by experienced Toyota team-mate and reigning world champion Sébastien Ogier, who claimed seven.
Safari Rally Kenya was the second event in succession in which Pajari impressed, after bouncing back from retirement at the season-opening Monte Carlo with a run to third at Rally Sweden last month. Across the last 10 WRC events, Pajari has finished inside the top seven on nine occasions, including three podiums, bringing a total of 107 points.
Pajari has already eclipsed his tally of stage wins from last year after only three events of the current campaign. That speed and form have left the 24-year-old confident he can now take the fight to the WRC’s elite on a regular basis, although he remains conscious there is still room for improvement.
“It’s going quite well recently and I must be super happy for that. At the same time I still feel there is room to improve and we have finished third three times now, so there are two more steps to do and I hope at some point we can claim those places as well,” said Pajari.
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“This [Safari Rally Kenya] is a really unique rally and of course it is really nice to finish on the podium, but also at the same time we had five stage wins, so it was not only about slowly getting through the rally, we had some quick pace. I’m happy from both sides.
“Of course we are there to fight with anybody and we have taken some stage wins on quite many different types of rallies and I think we are getting to the place where we can say we can basically fight with anyone in any condition.
“We are there not only to fight with our team-mates, but in general it is sport, so we try to do the best we can, otherwise we wouldn’t be here.”
Following his podium finish in Kenya, Pajari was back behind the wheel last week helping Toyota develop its 2027 prototype car in Portugal.
Next up for Pajari is an altogether different challenge as the WRC returns to asphalt in Croatia, which hosts the fourth round of the championship from 9 - 12 April. This year, the rally shifts its headquarters from Zagreb to the port city of Rijeka, with the route undergoing a significant overhaul, meaning most of the stages will be new to crews.
