However, Pajari still has a chance to claim the WRC2 title. Oliver Solberg, son of 2003 world champion Petter Solberg, had the opportunity to secure the championship with a win in Chile, but a puncture on Saturday ruined the Swedish driver’s chances.
Solberg ultimately finished fourth in the WRC2 class. This leaves Pajari with the chance to secure the title in his final WRC2 points event in Japan this November. In the next WRC rally in Central Europe, Pajari will again compete in the Rally1 category, meaning the suspense for the title will likely carry over into November.
“We will never give up, we fight everything we can, we feel we deserve a win for sure and also in the championship. It is very bitter at the moment, I am very emotional, I wanted to win it and now it is difficult. It’s been such a good year and it’s all I ever think about,” Solberg said.
The class victory in Chile went to Citroen’s Yohan Rossel, who also still has a chance to win the championship. However, for Rossel to claim the title, Pajari would need to falter in Japan.
“Very tough rally for sure, thanks to all my team, it is never easy when you fight for the victory all weekend, it is so close. Thanks everybody, now I need to tell my engineer because I said to my son if I win, I will decorate my helmet,” Rossel celebrated.
Second place in the class went to another Citroen driver, Nikolay Gryazin. His result also secured the class championship for the Belgian DG Sport Competition team. Third place went to Skoda driver Gus Greensmith. The British driver had a chance to take second place, but a small spin at the end of the final stage cost him enough time to drop 3.4 seconds behind Gryazin.
WRC2 results at Rally Chile:
POS | Driver | Car | Time |
1. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | 3:07:31.2 |
2. | Nikolay Gryazin | Citroen | +17.3 |
3. | Gus Greensmith | Skoda | +20.7 |
4. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +26.1 |
5. | K. Kajetanowicz | Skoda | +3:26.6 |