Pajari made his Rally1 debut in August at the Rally Finland, driving for Toyota, and delivered an impressive performance. After a dramatic race, Pajari finished fourth overall.
While the Finn benefited from several drivers’ retirements and misfortune, he still managed to show his pace in top-tier machinery.
In mid-September, it was announced that Pajari’s strong showing in Finland earned him two more chances to drive a Rally1 car this season. Pajari will compete in Toyota’s Rally1 car in the Chile and Central European WRC rounds.
Pajari’s teammate, Sebastien Ogier, sees only positive opportunities for the young Finn.
“What’s good is that he’s not nominated to score points, which takes off some of the pressure,” Ogier said in an interview with the French magazine AutoHebdo.
“For him, it’s great news, as it’s an additional race in his programme without any particular expectations. I don’t know yet what the team will ask of him in terms of objectives, but in an ideal world, it would be good if he could get involved in the fight and play a role in the current situation (in Rally Chile),” Ogier continued.
According to Ogier, Pajari could pull off something big in Chile and surprise everyone.
“I wasn’t in Chile last year, but if the conditions are similar to 2023, he’ll benefit from a favourable starting order. He could find himself in an advantageous position, which could help him showcase his skills quickly,” Ogier predicted.
Ogier was in a very different position early in his career compared to where Pajari is now.
“I remember that, during my own debut, the situation at Citroën was both simple… and not so simple. Politics was always very present. There were quite a few rallies where we were more or less working in service of Sébastien Loeb, but for Sami, everything is clearly positive,” Ogier shared.
Rally Chile will take place this weekend.
