Pajari posted strong times across the first three stages of Friday morning’s loop and currently sits in a solid fifth place in the overall classification. He trails rally leader, Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux, by just 11 seconds.
“Driving has felt really good. The stages have been quite different from each other, so it definitely hasn’t been easy, but the feeling has been pretty good. No complaints — the morning went quite well,” Pajari summed up.
The Finn did suffer a minor setback on the final stage of the loop when the front-right tyre of his car punctured.
“That was an unfortunate moment. Luckily it happened pretty close to the end of the stage, so we didn’t lose too much time, but the gaps are so small that even the slightest time loss is noticeable — and it quickly shows in the standings,” Pajari said.
Pajari’s road position is favourable. The cars ahead have swept the loose gravel, though the surface remains relatively slippery even by the time Pajari tackles the stages.
“The tyres still don’t bite into the road that well. It still feels pretty slippery for us too. At times we’re almost driving along ditch lines, and some big loose rocks get thrown up. You have to decide which ones are worth avoiding and which you can just drive over. The road does improve a bit for us, but there are still a lot of variables,” Pajari explained.
The same three stages from the morning will be repeated in the afternoon. The route features a mix of new sections and familiar Sardinian roads.
“The first two stages are unusually fast for Sardinia, but even there you have to be very precise in some places. You really need good confidence to go fast, Pajari said.
Pajari was relatively happy with his car setup during the morning. Only minimal adjustments are expected during the midday service.
“I had a couple of small things in mind, but the changes will be pretty marginal. The goal is to continue in the same way as before.”
Sardinia is one of Pajari’s favourite rallies, but he’s not planning any all-out attack in the afternoon loop.
“Not exactly planning anything like that. If I can maintain my position, that would definitely be great. Of course, we’ll try to improve a little bit. The conditions will be a bit different this afternoon, but if the feeling stays the same and I can post roughly similar times, that would be good.”
