Sami Pajari enters the WRC season finale second in the standings, 17 points behind Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans. Despite the sizable gap, the Finn insists nothing is impossible.
"The season must have gone well if you can be in this position, heading into the final rally with essentially every chance of winning the title still intact," Pajari said. "Of course, we know it will require a really good rally from me and for Elfyn not to be at his best. But anything is possible. All sorts of things can happen in a rally like this."
Overturning a 17-point deficit in a single rally is a considerable task. Pajari has yet to make up such a large points gap to Evans at any rally this season. "Yes, it is certainly a big target and it will not be easy. Even if I have a perfect rally, it still will not be enough if he also does well. But at this point, it would be foolish not to at least try," he pointed out.
Evans, Pajari and third-placed Oliver Solberg will be the first three cars onto the stages on Friday. There is plenty of loose gravel and dust on the route, but none of the trio is expected to gain a significant advantage from the starting order. "It is very slippery. Of course, those of us fighting for the championship will be running quite close together, so in that sense there perhaps should not be a significant difference either way," Pajari said.
The Toyota driver also highlighted the extensively repaired roads. "Those roads have been repaired quite extensively since previous years. They are very soft and covered in loose gravel. During recce, certain places did not look particularly rocky, but I think the rocks will be there beneath the fine sand," he predicted.
This season, Pajari has taken three victories and several podiums. However, he has scored clearly the fewest Super Sunday and Power Stage points of the leading three championship contenders. "In Greece, for example, we were not on course to score particularly well otherwise, but then we probably drove our best Sunday of the season there," he explained. "It is always difficult to assess. If you have a lot to lose in a rally and you are leading, for example, you want to reach the finish. On Sundays, there are often drivers whose rally has already been ruined earlier and who are competing solely for the Sunday points. So it is not that straightforward."
Nevertheless, Pajari intends to fight in earnest for the Sunday points this weekend. "But this time in particular, I do not think there is much to lose. We just have to push," he promised.
Baca Juga
Ford kembali ke WRC 2028 setelah absen sejak 2012. Presiden Ford Eropa, Jim Baumbick, ungkap strategi emosi dan warisan merek untuk hadapi pasar Eropa.
Ford Racing kembali ke WRC sebagai pabrikan penuh pada 2028 dan akan meluncurkan mobil baru untuk musim 2029. Simak detailnya di sini.
Sami Pajari siap habis-habisan di final WRC melawan Elfyn Evans. Tertinggal 17 poin, pembalap Toyota itu tak ingin menyesal karena tidak mencoba.
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