Pajari, who secured a seat in Toyota’s Rally1 car for this season, successfully completed the first two special stages of the rally on Thursday. Pajari currently sits in seventh place, trailing the leader by 9.7 seconds.
Thursday’s leg in Kenya covered only about 13 kilometres of special stages, yet the young Finn still encountered unexpected challenges. The biggest setback came right away during the first Kasarani spectator stage near Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.
“The lads have been saying this is a tough rally, but I didn’t quite expect to have rocks hitting the windscreen on the very first stage. That was a surprise right from the start,” Pajari remarked.
“It’s surprisingly difficult to drive with a crack right in my line of sight, but it is what it is. We just drove smartly and finished the day.”
Following the opening stage, the rally continued with the Mzabibu special stage, which stretched just over eight kilometres. Here, Pajari also had his first encounter with the country’s wildlife.
“In terms of the roads, the stages were still relatively easy compared to what’s coming. But already, a lot was happening, even for the other drivers. We also saw and had to avoid some animals,” Pajari summarised.
Although the cracked windscreen on the opening stage was an unfortunate setback, it doesn’t hold major significance in a rally like Kenya.
“It wasn’t the ideal start, but it’s not impossible to drive with. The gaps have been so small today that even a minor issue like this can be distracting enough to have an impact. But overall, I’ve had a pretty good feeling,” Pajari said.
Friday’s leg of the rally will be even more challenging, with eight special stages on the schedule, covering nearly 160 kilometres.
“The first two stages in the morning are really tough. Especially the first one – it’s long and definitely the hardest of the loop. The others aren’t easy either. There’s a lot of driving ahead tomorrow,” Pajari commented.
