Sami Pajari sits in a strong third place in the demanding Saudi Arabian rally after 11 special stages. The gap to rally leader Adrien Fourmaux in the Hyundai is only 4.5 seconds, meaning the Finn has a full chance of fighting all the way for the top spot.
Four drivers are still firmly in the victory battle: behind Fourmaux are Martins Sesks, Pajari and Ott Tänak, who fired in two fastest times during Friday morning’s loop. The leading quartet are covered by less than ten seconds.
There were several punctures again on the morning stages, but the front-runners managed to avoid trouble.
“It’s really close. I was already expecting that there would be some bigger time caps. We are able to push quite hard, but still mostly without issues – I mean, all the guys,” Pajari summarised.
Like Pajari, both Fourmaux and Sesks are also chasing their first win in the top class of the World Rally Championship.
“I think on the standings there is a proper fight. I just try to push on my own thing. I try to do each stage as fast as I can basically. And then the rest of it is what it is,” he said.
“I felt most of the time that I was trying to be clever in the places where I saw that I have risk to get a puncture. But also there are many sections where I was doing absolutely all I can. Maybe I should take these few places where I was cautious away and be pushing even more.”
The same three-stage loop will be driven again after midday service. Conditions could be even tougher now that the field has already gone through once.
“I think it would be a miracle if there was nothing happening now in the afternoon,” Pajari predicted.
