Pajari was ninth fastest on the opening Harju special stage, beating only Gregoire Munster, who was driving a Ford, among the Rally1 cars.
“Good feeling. Although I don’t know if the good feeling mainly comes from the fact that the stage just went cleanly through. I’ve never driven this car on asphalt, let alone wet asphalt. There was a chance to do something really silly. Although the time difference was several seconds, it doesn’t matter at this point,” Pajari told RallyJournal.com.
“I went through the stage very cautiously. If there was any uncertainty, I played it safe,” Pajari continued.
Pajari gets a great opportunity to show his skills in Finland. The car is now better and completely different from anything he has previously experienced.
“This car is just incredibly fast and in all areas a step better than any previous car I’ve driven. When I first got to drive a Rally2 car, I already thought that this car goes really fast. It feels unbelievable that they still find ways to make the car even better. There’s still some getting used to in order to learn to use all its potential,” Pajari admitted.
Rally Finland really starts tomorrow, Friday. Pajari’s goals are very modest.
“A realistic goal is probably to be able to match the pace I had in Shakedown. Hopefully, we can start the race with that pace and hopefully improve a bit as the race progresses,” Pajari planned.
“Of course, the weather brings its own challenges, as you have no idea what it will be like. There will certainly be challenges if it rains heavily. I wouldn’t say we’re going to set any fastest times. I’ll try to drive in a way that feels good and if the feeling is good, why not drive fast,” Pajari continued.
Friday’s driving day offers as many as nine special stages.
“I’m looking forward to a really great day tomorrow. If the worst rains stay away, it could be a really fine and enjoyable day. There are very fast sections and very typical Finnish rally roads ahead,” Pajari anticipated.
