Falling out of the fight for victory was a tough spot for Sami Pajar.
Sami Pajari fell far from the top due to a flat tire. PDO
Sami Pajari initially drove past the media tent perhaps on purpose.
The officials of the international automobile association FIA went to pick up the Lahti driver, because the responsibilities of a rally professional also include speaking to the press.
In the case of Pajar, I would have understood if he had taken a tactical fine for avoiding media obligations.
– There is not much to say. Naturally, we were aiming for the first win of our career and the pace was really right, he started when he arrived.
The disappointment was caused by the fact that the number one position offered to Pajar slipped through his fingers in EK13, when the Finn had to change a flat tire.
A loss of more than two minutes even dropped him Kalle Rovanperän back to seventh place. From there, on the last day, you won’t be able to fight for victory.
– I knew that the afternoon could be really challenging for all of us. But of course a flat tire hits me right when I’m in the fight for victory.
Laughter helps
Juha Kankkunen’s pump is being tested in Saudi Arabia. Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT
Pajari did not get much consolation from the excellent pace.
– Thanks to that, I’m even more disappointed, because I know what was on offer. We were really well involved, and the goal was to go for the first win.
The only 23-year-old rally driver certainly has age on his side. He is in no rush to get the opening win, but naturally losing it due to bad luck is hard to digest.
However, a clear smile had already appeared on Pajar’s face when he arrived at the Finnish media.
– Maybe I’m sick in the head, because I think that laughter helps in a bad moment. You can hide everything behind it, he told Iltalehte.
Team manager Juha Kankkunen felt sympathy for his driver.
– I’ll probably have to get a pacemaker at some point to be able to handle this job. The rally goes like this. That’s a shame.