WRC
Pajari savours ‘sweeter’ Paraguay win as WRC title fight intensifies
Sami Pajari believes the way he conquered ueno Rally del Paraguay made his historic third consecutive FIA World Rally Championship victory all the sweeter.
The 24-year-old and co-driver Marko Salminen became the first crew in WRC history whose first three victories have come consecutively, adding Paraguay to their breakthrough success in Estonia and home triumph in Finland.
But while Pajari’s first two victories showcased his outright speed on fast gravel, Paraguay demanded something very different.
“It was a really demanding rally,” he told WRC.com. “It wasn’t only about being flat out from start to finish, which is quite different compared with Estonia or Finland.
“Here, I was well in the lead, so I needed to manage the gap, but also manage the tyres and many other things.
“I tried to be clever with my driving and, looking back now, it seems like that’s exactly what we did.”
That restraint proved particularly important on Friday, when tyre failures and incidents hit virtually every Rally1 crew.
Pajari had his own difficulties, including a water leak and a period running in limp mode, but crucially never had to stop to change a wheel. From fourth place and 33.2sec off the lead at Friday midday, he emerged from the opening leg 11.9sec ahead.
“Maybe I was lucky in one way, but I was also trying to avoid as many stones as I could,” he explained.
“It’s never really easy to point out what the real cause of these things is.”
Saturday brought another test when Pajari ran wide and ripped the upper plane from his GR Yaris Rally1’s rear wing. Yet even that failed to derail him, and he eventually won by 25.8sec from Hayden Paddon.
The achievement only began to sink in when Pajari was told afterwards that no crew had ever previously converted their first three WRC wins into a hat-trick.
© WRC
“It means a lot, really. It’s really, really special,” he said.
“Someone told me that no one has ever done it before, so that makes it really special. You really need to stop and realise, ‘OK, is it really so amazing?’
“It was a crazy rally. We expected heavy rain and it wasn’t only our team that was wrong with the forecast – all of the teams were.
“Everyone was talking about the crazy rain which was going to arrive really soon, but it never really arrived on the stages. It hit the service park quite badly, though, and many tents were actually flying.
“It makes the taste even sweeter, I promise!”
There is another consequence Pajari can no longer entirely ignore.
Three victories in succession have transformed the shape of the drivers’ championship. He leaves Paraguay on 196 points, just 20 behind leader Elfyn Evans, with Oliver Solberg third on 175 and three rounds remaining.
Asked directly whether the title fight was now properly on, Pajari was unequivocal.
“Yeah, it’s on.
“I’ll keep doing the best I can, but I’m not saying it’s going to be easy or anything. I’m not really putting too much focus on winning the championship, actually.
“But I already have to be happy with the three events and the victories.”
Next comes Rally Chile Bio Bío, another gravel challenge but one Pajari is relieved will be preceded by a brief return home rather than the lengthy South American stay he experienced last season.
