Sami Pajari expressed frustration with his performance on Friday morning at Rally Chile, but he bounced back to claim his first stage win as conditions improved in the afternoon. The Finnish driver now sits fifth overall after the opening day's six special stages.
Pajari struggled in the muddy conditions during the morning, finishing around 20 seconds adrift of the fastest time on the opening stage. However, in the afternoon loop, he showed competitive pace and fought for third place. His teammate, Oliver Solberg, who leads the rally, has pulled 21.7 seconds clear of him. Meanwhile, Sebastien Ogier is two seconds ahead of Pajari, with Hyundai driver Adrien Fourmaux 3.7 seconds clear.
“I can’t be completely satisfied, but the battle with both of them is still really close. I actually noticed that Oliver is missing a piece of his bumper, so I think everyone is pretty much driving flat out,” Pajari said with a laugh. “The afternoon was better. I was able to enjoy the driving and I think we are only about three seconds away from third place. We are definitely in the fight.”
However, Pajari will need to improve on Saturday. Elfyn Evans, who leads him by 20 points in the WRC standings, is second in the rally and just over ten seconds ahead of the Finn. “It will probably be a difficult day. Normally, Saturday’s loop is the most demanding. This time, though, we might get a little help from the cars running ahead, and there may still be some moisture on the road from last night’s rain. That could help us a little,” Pajari reasoned.
Pajari was particularly frustrated by Friday morning’s loop. “The morning was unusually poor or subdued from us. In the afternoon, we were already able to set a fastest time. The gap to third place is only three seconds, which isn’t much. Tomorrow we have to try to push as hard as we can,” Pajari summarised. “Tomorrow’s roads will be quite different in character, but on the other hand, everyone knows the stages really well. Hopefully we can make some gains.”
With improved performance in the afternoon, Pajari is optimistic about moving up the order on Saturday. He acknowledges the challenge remains tough, especially against more experienced drivers, but his fighting spirit is high to deliver his best and secure a strong result at Rally Chile.
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Oliver Solberg leads Rally Chile after day one, holding a 10.1-second advantage over Elfyn Evans. Read the full analysis and provisional standings.
Oliver Solberg leads Rally Chile after SS6, 10.1 seconds ahead of Elfyn Evans. Fourmaux third, with Ogier and Pajari close behind. Read the full analysis.
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