Sami Pajari can soon reach the top positions with Toyota’s Rally1 car.
– I haven’t had time to eat yet, Sami Pajari states before the interview.
Preparing for his first full WRC season as a Rally1 car driver Sami Pajari was by far the most interesting topic of the AKK’s media day organized on Wednesday. The journalists who were on the spot had their turn waiting for interviews with the 23-year-old talent.
When the media event started at 10:30, Pajari was still giving interviews two hours later. The young man was so popular that he had not had time to enjoy the lunch provided by the organizer.
Pajari won the WRC2 championship in the World Rally Championship last season. In the season that starts in two weeks, he will drive the entire Rally1 season in the ranks of Toyota, the top team.
The team’s previous driver’s champion Kalle Rovanperä stars the team as a multiple World Cup winner Sébastien Ogier with. They also drive in the stable Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta.
Pajari, who is promising and very successful at a young age, is considered the next Finnish rally world champion after Rovanperä.
The rally world champion from 40 years ago was present at the event Timo Salonen.
– Compared to him, I don’t have much success, Pajari blurts out.
– A joke, a joke. You can understand why I’m interested. It has taken some time to get used to it. There have been so many races that more attention has come series by series. It hasn’t come all at once, he says.
In the end, Pajarik also got food, luckily.
“Fair guy”
Do you have something in common with Rovanperä?
– Hard to say. Success has come in the same way, just like he did before. If it continued at the same pace as him, I wouldn’t mind. He is a good gauge for me.
Pajari is a year younger than Rovanperä. Although both young Finns are talented rally drivers and drive in the same team, there are more differences.
The two are in contact mostly in connection with rally races.
– Although we are relatively the same age and both from Finland, we are from completely different places. He has been living abroad for a long time, so we won’t see him in his free time.
– He has been a really fair guy towards me. It’s really great that you can get tips from such a guy.
On the podium in Sweden?
According to Pajar, driving a Rally1 car has not changed the preparation from the significant past years. With the factory stable, Pajari goes through more details.
Preparation for Rally1 cars has already been done before. The map reader will help in the coming season Marko Salminenwith which Pajari won the youth world championship in 2021. In the World Championship, Salminen has read music more than 50 times.
– We have shared experience from a few years ago. There are good memories, and during December we got to drive one smaller race in Italy. A good basic performance was obtained. It was a good test, and now we are ready for the Games, Pajari is confident.
The season starts on January 23. The race venue is the legendary Monte Carlo. After that, a traditional snow rally will be held in Sweden, which has suited Finnish drivers.
– Monte is a legendary race, it’s great to go there. As a competition, it is one of the most challenging. It has been really challenging conditions. However, Sweden has been a clear competition, similar to what we have had in Finland. The rallies in Estonia and Jyväskylä are sweet events, Pajari anticipates.
In Sweden, Pajari may win his first Rally1 series podium in his career.
– If it goes well, why not. I hope that the pace develops there so that it is close to the level of the tip. Although we don’t necessarily drive from the top positions, we are constantly trying to improve and get closer to the top.