The 2026 Chile Rally has presented a tough challenge for Sami Pajari. The Finnish driver admitted that he lost confidence after falling behind his rivals in the opening stages. Nevertheless, he is determined to find a solution amid the difficult conditions.
Toyota still leads the rally with Oliver Solberg at the top, followed by Elfyn Evans just 2.3 seconds behind. Meanwhile, Pajari trails Solberg by 23 seconds, but is only 5.3 seconds adrift of third place. A gap that is not too large, yet enough to disrupt his consistency.
“It has been a difficult morning. There has been a lot of talk about the conditions and the weather, but Elfyn and Oliver clearly had better pace than us. So this isn’t the best possible situation,” Pajari said. He also noted that several cars behind him had moments, highlighting how challenging the Chilean roads are.
Losing more than 16 seconds on the opening stage forced Pajari to change his car’s set-up before the second stage. Although the feeling improved, he still couldn’t match Evans’ speed. “I don’t usually like the car to be this soft. If it is too soft, it starts to rock around and isn’t as precise. That makes it more difficult to understand where the grip is,” he explained.
The set-up changes made the car better for the next two stages, and the feeling behind the wheel improved. However, Pajari couldn’t immediately explain the lack of pace. “It could simply be that I’m lacking a little confidence and the courage to commit fully. In places like that, you can never know exactly how much grip there will be in each corner. I don’t really know why I just can’t find it,” he added.
Pajari emphasised that the grip often changes from one corner to the next, making it difficult to judge. “If you’re not 100 per cent on top of things, it’s difficult to find the feeling that allows you to really attack,” he concluded. With the rally still long, the Toyota driver must quickly find his rhythm if he wants to challenge for the top positions.
Baca Juga
Sami Pajari mengaku kehilangan kepercayaan diri setelah tertinggal di Reli Chile. Pembalap Toyota itu berjuang menemukan pace optimal di tengah kondisi trek yang menantang.
Esapekka Lappi kesulitan di Reli Chile, kehilangan 1,5 menit dari pemimpin dan terpuruk di posisi kesembilan. Hyundai harus segera mencari solusi.
Thierry Neuville memenangi SS3 Rally Chile, menyalip Solberg. Solberg tetap memimpin klasemen sementara dengan keunggulan 2,3 detik atas Evans.
Lanjutkan dengan Google
Diskusi & Komentar (0)
Mari Bergabung dalam Diskusi!
Masuk dengan mudah untuk mulai memberikan komentar, membalas, dan berinteraksi dengan pembaca lainnya.
Komentar Terbaru
Belum ada komentar. Jadilah yang pertama!