Sami Pajari is fifth in the Rally2 class.
Sami Pajari (right) and Enni Malkonen understand the difficulty of Monte Carlo. PDO
Sami Pajari was careful with his words when he told Iltalehte his goals in the Monte Carlo World Rally.
– I promise to do my best. But I don’t want to dig a hole for myself by saying that we will surely win, Pajari formulated.
Lahtelainen was wise from afar, because Pajari was never able to match the speed of the top drivers in the Rally2 class.
A difference of almost two minutes to the leader who went into the night break to Nikolai Grjazin however, is definitely too much.
Pajari chose a bombproof way of driving in the Meri-Alps. In any case, he didn’t want to risk Toyota’s new Rally2 cannon.
– Pretty hard. To be honest, I should be braver in difficult places. Experience would help, Pajari admitted after the morning’s second special test
– In terms of learning. This isn’t going badly, but there are many things that could be improved.
The pace did not improve
The longer the day progressed, the further the tip seemed to escape. Grjazin also had to push hard because Škoda’s Spanish driver Pepe Lopez kept breathing down my neck.
Pajari won the Junior World Championship in the 2021 season, so in theory he should have the momentum to challenge for the top. The Monte Carlo might just have arrived too quickly in terms of getting to know the car.
– A positive day, even though there was a lot to learn, Pajari confessed on the way to the night break.
The story continues after the picture
Pajari went to Monte Carlo with realistic goals. PDO
However, the Finn is currently the fastest of the Toyota Rally2 drivers. During the weekend, however, the pace should pick up.
The Monte Carlo Rally is about halfway through. In total, nine of the 17 special tests have yet to be run.