Pajari was caught speeding on a liaison section on Friday evening. According to the rally organisers, Pajari was driving at 118 km/h in a zone with a 100 km/h speed limit. As a result, the race stewards handed Pajari a €450 fine.
The Finnish driver’s rally began well on the tarmac of Central Europe, and everything was going according to plan until Sunday. However, on the opening stage of the final day, Pajari retired after rolling his Rally1 car. Before his retirement, Pajari was in sixth place in the rally.
Pajari was competing on tarmac in a Rally1 car for the first time in his career during the Central European Rally. In the season’s final event in Japan, Pajari will return to the WRC2 category, where he still has a chance to win the championship. If Pajari finishes in the top two in his class in Japan, he will be the champion of this season.
Pajari wasn’t the only driver to receive a fine after the rally. Among his WRC2 rivals this season, Gus Greensmith and Joshua McErlean were fined €625, and Czech driver Filip Mares received a €450 penalty.
The highest fine, however, went to German driver Thomas Pahlitzsch, who was racing in a VW Polo R5. He was caught driving 90 km/h in a 60 km/h zone, resulting in a €725 fine. Irishman Conor Wilson and Croatian Slaven Sekuljica were also caught speeding.
