Sami Pajari started the day in the same position, but was only 3.7 seconds off third place at that point. The Finnish driver was fifth-fastest on all three morning stages, so the gap to third grew rather than narrowed. He is now 32.4 seconds behind Hyundai's third-placed Adrien Fourmaux. The Finn could not explain where his pace had gone.
"Simply, I don't know the real answer other than basically being slow and not being on the pace we have had in recent rallies," he said. "The feeling is that we are just sliding all over the place and really not able to find any traction or feeling. Simply, it is just a struggle."
Pajari had a moment of his own on the second stage of the morning loop. His Toyota ran wide at a left-hand corner and the rear of the car struck the bank. According to the Finnish driver, the unexpected moment was not caused by a pace-note error, as the stage was already familiar from previous years.
"It is more the surface and the grip it is giving that cause the surprises. There were a couple of places like that. We saw the place where Jon (Armstrong) went off, for example, and this was quite similar. It was simply much more slippery than you would expect. It is somehow tricky to judge. We really don't know what is causing it," Pajari said, puzzled.
The three morning stages will be repeated in Chile during the afternoon. Pajari openly admits the gap to those ahead is already too large. Fourth-placed team-mate Sebastien Ogier is also 30.5 seconds ahead.
"Yes, I believe so. Tomorrow is then the only chance to try to get some points. Our road position would have been quite good this morning. The driving became increasingly tricky after a few drivers dropped out. The situation is not entirely bad, though. Hopefully we can still achieve a good result," Pajari said.
Read Also
Esapekka Lappi praises co-driver Enni Malkonen for her constant cheerfulness despite challenges at Rally Chile. Read more.
Oliver Solberg wins SS9 at Rally Chile and extends his lead to 10.1 seconds. Sami Pajari struggles, dropping to fifth, 50.5 seconds adrift. Full analysis here.
Sami Pajari loses 13.2 seconds in SS8 Rally Chile 2026 after an incident at Lota. Ogier closes in on second, while Solberg leads.
Continue with Google
Discussion (0)
Join the Discussion!
Sign in easily to start commenting, replying, and interacting with other readers.
Latest Comments
No comments yet. Be the first!