A mysterious fault struck Pajari’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, sapping power from the car. Over the course of the four-stage loop, Pajari was clearly off the pace of the frontrunners and dropped to eighth place on the leaderboard.
By the time he reached midday service in Tartu, the Toyota driver was nearly a minute off the lead — and the cause of the issue was still a mystery.
“It’s confusing, and I have no idea where it’s coming from. At times, the car just lacks power for some reason,” Pajari explained.
“There were no warning lights or anything else obvious. We were just really clueless about what the situation actually was,” he added.
The Finnish driver had set out to chase a strong result in Estonia’s fast gravel rally. But now, that goal is looking more like an unfulfilled hope.
Efforts were being made in service to get Pajari’s car back into full working order.
“I’m not giving up, but of course this is frustrating — not just because of the result, but especially because this is such a cool and awesome rally, and we’ve always had a good feeling driving here,” Pajari said.
Pajari’s teammate Oliver Solberg has had a much smoother run around the Tartu stages. Though it’s his first rally in Toyota’s Rally1 car, Solberg has sensationally led the entire rally after clocking two fastest times in the morning.
“He’s doing really well. But the others are driving fast too,” Pajari commented.
Three more stages remain to be run on Friday after the service break at Rally Estonia.
