Pajari ended the 2024 season on a high note, clinching the WRC2 title at Rally Japan just over a week ago. However, after the event, the Finnish driver announced that he would not continue his partnership with co-driver Enni Mälkönen.
Following Rally Japan, Toyota announced that Pajari would compete in a full WRC season next year in the top class, driving the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. However, the identity of Pajari’s new co-driver was not disclosed at the time of the driver line-up announcement.
On Tuesday morning, Pajari finally revealed his new co-driver: Marko Salminen is returning to join him in the car.
“I know that this is where the real hard work really starts. I’m glad to announce that I have Marko Salminen supporting me as my my co-driver,” Pajari shared in an Instagram post.
Pajari and Salminen will already team up this weekend at the Monza Rally Show in Italy. The Italian Scuderia Movisport team had actually hinted at this partnership on Monday evening, posting a photo revealing that Pajari and Salminen would drive a Toyota Rally2 car in the team’s colours at the iconic Monza circuit.
Salminen is a familiar figure for Pajari, having served as his co-driver in 2020 and 2021 in the WRC’s JWRC junior category. Together, they secured the JWRC championship title in 2021.
The 46-year-old Salminen has 50 WRC starts under his belt. In recent years, he has been co-driving for drivers in Toyota’s development programme, including Japanese competitors Yuki Yamamoto and Nao Otake. He has also co-driven for Takamoto Katsuta and Teemu Suninen in previous WRC seasons.
Salminen is a logical choice, given his familiarity with both Pajari and Toyota’s rally team, as well as his extensive WRC experience.
