Pajari joined Toyota as a full-time driver at the start of this year. The Japanese manufacturer announced that he will remain part of the line-up alongside Elfyn Evans, Sébastien Ogier and Takamoto Katsuta. The team has also signed Oliver Solberg, who claimed the WRC2 title this season.
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This year has been all about gaining experience for Pajari, but he also delivered his best-ever result by finishing third at Rally Japan – his first career podium in the World Rally Championship.
“From the beginning, it has been a learning season. After the halfway point of the season, the approach has been braver and I’ve been trying to achieve better results as part of the learning process. I think it was a nice way to take the first podium towards the end of the season,” Pajari said during Monday’s press conference.
“It has also been a different kind of season. Last year was all about fighting for the WRC2 championship, while this year has been more about learning. I think we’re getting better, and I can’t wait for the next season to start again,” he added.
Next year, expectations will be higher for the Finnish driver. There is still plenty to learn, but he is expected to close the gap to the very top of the WRC field.
“I know we still have a lot of hard work ahead to get to where we really want to be – which is to one day fight for championships. But I’m really looking forward to improving on what we’ve done this year,” Pajari concluded.
There is still one round remaining in the current season, with the final rally taking place in Saudi Arabia at the end of November.
