Pajari ultimately finished fourth overall, as Finland’s gruelling gravel rally claimed “victims” one after another.
Sunday offered plenty of drama. First, Toyota’s Elfyn Evans drove off the track, and immediately after, the rally’s overwhelming leader, Kalle Rovanperä, went off into the forest. After Rovanperä’s exit, Pajari managed to climb to fourth place.
Pajari admitted he was surprised himself.
“I did not expect such a placement”, Pajari said.
“I did not have many concrete expectations for this race. Certain things went much better than expected. I expected perhaps a bit more consistent performance and conditions, and that it would have been easier to find a good rhythm for driving,” Pajari continued.
The conditions for Rally Finland were very challenging this year. Friday and Saturday brought rain. Pajari was close to crashing badly on the first stage on Friday, but the 22-year-old Finn pulled himself together impressively. Pajari also set his first fastest stage time with a Rally1 car in Finland.
“The weather was probably the biggest factor that increased the rally’s difficulty. It varied a lot, and it was very challenging to determine what was a good speed. Considering that, a few stages went really well, and one fastest time was set,” Pajari rejoiced.
Pajari was quite satisfied with his Rally1 debut, but he was not completely fulfilled. Not even close.
“There were many good things in this race, but quite a lot also left something to be desired,” Pajari admitted.
