This season, Pajari has been busy competing in the WRC, where the Finnish driver is battling for the WRC2 championship against Sweden’s Oliver Solberg and France’s Yohan Rossel. He’s also had the opportunity to test his skills in a Rally1-class Toyota in the top category of the WRC.
Pajari’s Rally1 debut went impressively at the Rally Finland in early August. The Lahti native drove exceptionally well, finishing in fourth place and delivering a strong performance. Since then, there has been speculation about whether Pajari could secure a Rally1 seat with Toyota for next season.
Last weekend, however, Pajari didn’t need to focus on proving himself or feel any additional pressure as he entered the Lahti Historic Rally in the invitational class. Pajari was driving an F-group Toyota Corolla.
Pajari’s run was cut short at the start of the second day due to a technical issue. Nevertheless, he was left with a positive feeling from the weekend.
“We had an awesome day on Friday. We got to drive all day, and it was really fun. Of course, it’s always a bit disappointing when the rally ends early, but otherwise, I have no complaints,” Pajari smiled in an interview with RallyJournal.com.
“The idea was for this to be very relaxed and fun. And especially with that kind of car, which is so enjoyable to drive. I’m already thinking about where I might drive next,” Pajari chuckled.
Even though Pajari wasn’t pushing flat out against the clock, he set some very competitive times, even against drivers from the Finnish Rally Championship (FRC). For example, on the final stage of the first day, Pajari would have placed fifth overall in the stage times among the FRC drivers.
The only drivers who were faster than Pajari on that stage were SM1-class front-runners Roope Korhonen, Teemu Asunmaa, and Niclas Grönholm, along with veteran Juha Salo.
Pajari’s feat was impressive, as he outpaced several SM1-class drivers – not to mention all the other competitors in different classes.
“It was pretty funny when we saw the time and realised it would have been the fifth-fastest overall in the FRC rally. It felt pretty wild at that moment,” Pajari recalled.
“Of course, the stage went well and we had fun, but I didn’t expect such a time. It seemed the stage suited our car,” he said with a grin.
Pajari will compete next week at the Acropolis Rally in Greece, where he’ll be driving a Toyota Rally2 car in the WRC2 class, aiming for points.
