Pajari is now competing in his first full season in the top tier of the WRC. In Monte-Carlo, the Finnish driver’s main goal was to gain experience. His initial pace was cautious, but by Saturday, he was setting more competitive stage times. However, his rally came to an abrupt end on Sunday morning’s opening stage when black ice caught him out, and he slid off a bridge.
Latvala shared a story with Pajari from his own early career, recalling a similar experience in 2007 during his early days as a rally driver. Back then, Latvala himself crashed into concrete and retired on the penultimate stage.
“We talked about it, and I said at one point during the rally that I had a similar situation back in 2007. It was just like Sami’s situation now. At first, we were two seconds per kilometre slower, but then the pace started to pick up,” Latvala recalled.
“But it all ended on the penultimate stage in the concrete. I explained it to him, saying that avoiding a repeat of that would make it easier to head into Rally Sweden.”
Pajari’s rally ended up being somewhat reminiscent of Latvala’s early career experience. However, Latvala partially blamed himself for Pajari’s crash.
“I am a bit annoyed with myself because I should have emphasised more in the morning that the tyre choice should have been safer. I did mention that four studded tyres would be better, but I didn’t stress it enough,” Latvala admitted.
“The conditions were extremely difficult. That was what caught out Sami and Takamoto (Katsuta). But that’s Monte for you. Overall, it was still a brilliant performance by the team.”
Although two cars were forced to retire, it didn’t affect Toyota’s overall success, as both Pajari and Katsuta were not scoring manufacturer points. Toyota secured a 1-2 finish in the overall stadings, as well as in Sunday’s results and on the concluding Power Stage.
Under Latvala’s leadership, Toyota achieved a full 60-point haul and immediately gained a 24-point lead over Hyundai.
“You can’t ask for more when the team gets maximum points. The key was getting the tyre choices right this morning. The end result was outstanding,” Latvala concluded.