The second round of the World Rally Championship season will be held next week around Umeå. Toyota’s drivers are completing their tests in Finland ahead of the Swedish snow rally.
Pajari began his test programme on Monday at the Toyota second team’s own test area in central Finland. Conditions were thoroughly wintry, with the temperature dropping below –20 degrees Celsius during the day.
Pajari and co-driver Marko Salminen were able to fine-tune the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 car in ideal conditions, as similar weather is forecast for the rally week in Umeå: bitter cold and dry conditions.
Watch the videos from Pajari and Salminen’s test day below!
Pajari has a major opportunity to bounce back in Sweden, as the season-opening Rally Monte Carlo went badly wrong for him. He went off the road twice and ultimately failed to reach the finish.
There is, however, one positive aspect to the disappointing opening round: in Sweden, Pajari will be able to attack from a favourable road position. His pace in testing looked sharp, so a significantly fresher performance can be expected from the Finnish driver in Sweden.
Rally Sweden will be held from 12 to 15 February.
