Pajari hit a wall already on Thursday and damaged his car. After that, the Finnish driver has effectively been left on a learning run at the Monte Carlo Rally.
On the first special stage of Saturday morning, Pajari lost well over a minute to the fastest times, and several Rally2 drivers also finished ahead of him.
On the second stage of the morning loop, Pajari dropped more than 44 seconds to his team-mate Oliver Solberg, who set the fastest time. And naturally, the Finn could not be very satisfied with that.
“The conditions are, of course, very difficult, but there isn’t really much more to say about them,” Pajari said after the morning loop.
“I’m not blaming anyone, but our team goes out slightly earlier to gather information about the conditions. On many stages, however, I may be a bit too cautious, and I don’t fully trust what lies ahead,” Pajari continued.
There are, however, perfectly sensible reasons for that caution. After Pajari lost his chances of fighting for a top result already on the first day, there is no real sense in pushing beyond the limit anymore.
“I’m cautious especially because I obviously don’t want to do anything stupid. That would only make the situation even more difficult,” Pajari reasoned.
At the Monte Carlo Rally, there is still a longer special stage to be run on Saturday, after which only a short spectator stage in Monaco remains. The rally concludes on Sunday.
