In the midst of a tight championship battle, Sami Pajari is taking a different approach from his rivals. Instead of spending evenings analyzing onboard videos, the Finn prioritizes a good night's sleep and restaurant dinners. It's a controversial move in the WRC paddock, but one that has propelled him to the top of the standings.
The revelation came from his co-driver, Marko Salminen, in a recent interview with Hanaa magazine. Salminen explained that they deliberately avoid the common ritual of staying up late to study stages on video.
"In the evenings, we're both on our own. Sami watches the videos by himself, and I watch them by myself while reading the pace notes aloud and viewing the in-car footage at triple speed. The only exception was when we went through the Power Stage notes together on Saturday evening," Salminen said.
This approach is not without reason. Pajari and Salminen believe that physical and mental freshness is far more valuable than extra hours of video review. "Other drivers watch the videos for a long time and study them closely, but we've worked out that a good night's sleep helps more than watching the videos one more time. Oliver Solberg and we are moving things in the direction of watching fewer videos," Salminen revealed.
The results speak for themselves this season. After clinching a maiden victory in Estonia, Pajari repeated the feat on home soil at Rally Finland. Those back-to-back wins have lifted him to second in the WRC standings, just 30 points behind championship leader and teammate Elfyn Evans.
A Simple Philosophy
Salminen added that they always try to switch off from rally pressure. "A lot of people order food to their hotel rooms in the evenings and keep watching videos, but we always try to switch off from the rally and go out to eat together at a restaurant," he said. This relaxed lifestyle has become their secret weapon.
With this proven approach, Pajari and Salminen will next chase another strong result at Rally Paraguay next week. Will this sleep-first philosophy bring them closer to the world title? We'll see on the gravel of Paraguay.
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