Sami Pajari Plays Down Pressure Ahead of Rally Finland

Sami Pajari is trying to reduce the pressure heading into Rally Finland, insisting that his maiden victory in Estonia offers no guarantee at his home round.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT driver said his GR Yaris Rally1 has remained largely unchanged since Rally Estonia. Pre-event testing was used only to explore minor adjustments, with no significant revisions made to the overall package.

“The changes were very minor. We only adjusted or tried a few marginal things, so there was nothing significant. The biggest change was probably fitting a fresh set of tyres, and apart from that the package is pretty much ready,” Pajari said.

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Pajari set the fastest time on the opening runs of Thursday’s shakedown before the road cleaned up and times improved. The early pace left him feeling comfortable, although he remains determined to keep expectations under control before the competitive stages begin.

Pajari believes history demonstrates that local knowledge does not automatically make Rally Finland straightforward for Finnish drivers. He pointed to Juha Kankkunen, who did not claim his first victory at the event until his 11th attempt, while Kalle Rovanpera also needed time before eventually winning at home.

“I’m keeping my expectations fairly modest. I’m certainly not going around saying that this is our rally,” Pajari said. “This has never been an easy rally, even though people often think Rally Finland should be easy for Finnish drivers.”

His Estonia victory nevertheless proved that he has the pace to fight at the front. “Estonia showed that we’re capable of fighting for victory, and that’s exactly what we want to do. That means we have to produce our very best again,” he added.

Rally Finland will now test whether Pajari can maintain that momentum without allowing the added pressure of competing at home to alter the approach that delivered his first WRC victory.