After Friday’s stages, Pajari was sitting in sixth place. Despite being a minute and a half behind the leader, team principal Jari-Matti Latvala had nothing but praise for his young protégé. Pajari lost the hybrid unit’s power during the very first stage of the day, adding to the already challenging conditions on the tricky Czech roads.
“Sami had a good day. There’s nothing to be ashamed of at all. I think he drove well. His pace has been very good when the car was functioning. He set some solid times, and the split times were right up there. When it was slippery, he played it safe,” Latvala told RallyJournal.com.
“This is exactly what you need to do when it’s your first time on tarmac. You have to learn from it and avoid pushing too hard.”
Latvala also hinted once again that Pajari could be getting even more Rally1 outings next year.
“Absolutely mature driving from Sami again. If we look at what he has been able to do, they are strong signals that Toyota wants to develop young drivers and wants to continue working with Sami in the future,” Latvala added.
Toyota’s fight with Hyundai for the manufacturers’ championship is heating up. At the end of September’s Rally Chile, Toyota halved the gap to their rivals, reducing it to 17 points. After Friday’s stages in the Central European Rally, the situation remains tight. Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville leads the rally, but Toyota’s multiple champion Sebastien Ogier is just 6.4 seconds behind.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak is running third, right on Ogier’s tail. Elfyn Evans dropped back slightly during the last stage of the day but remains in contention in fourth place.
“Elfyn said that overall, the day was good, but he wasn’t happy with the last stage. He didn’t quite understand why he didn’t perform better there. He also mentioned that he maybe played it too safe. He should have taken more risks,” Latvala summarised.
The Finnish team boss has strong faith that Toyota’s drivers can overtake Hyundai on Saturday when the rally moves to the German and Austrian stages.
“I quickly spoke with the drivers, and the most important thing is that we are in fighting positions. Four drivers are still close to each other. It’s not crucial to be leading the rally on Friday,” Latvala said, keeping confidence high.
“Tomorrow, the roads will be better, with more grip. I don’t know how much the starting position affected today and how much Thierry benefitted from it. But tomorrow, the starting positions should be pretty even for everyone. I have a feeling that tomorrow’s stages will suit both our car and our drivers better.”
