With his third consecutive victory, Sami Pajari has achieved something that even Loeb and Ogier never managed—the Finn talks about his historic success
At the age of 24, Toyota driver Sami Pajari has made rally history. The Finn has achieved something that even the great WRC legends have never managed: Following his debut victory in the WRC, he went on to win two more rallies.
Pajari first won in Estonia, then in Finland, and now in Paraguay. “This means a lot to me.
“Someone told me that no one has ever done this before, and that makes it truly special. You really have to stop and take a moment to realize [that I’ve done this]. It’s so incredible—of course I’m happy.”
Sébastien Loeb won his first rally in Germany in 2002 and had to wait until the 2003 season opener, the Monte Carlo Rally, for his second victory. Sébastien Ogier celebrated his first victories in 2010.
He stood on the top step of the podium for the first time in Portugal. Four rallies later, he celebrated his second victory in Japan. With nine World Championship titles each, Loeb and Ogier are the most successful drivers in WRC history.
Pajari is competing in his second full season in the top class. He only retired from the season opener in Monte Carlo. Since then, a seventh-place finish in Portugal has been his worst result. The only time he didn’t make it to the podium was in Greece (fourth place).
He’s stood on the podium in third place four times, in second place once, and now as the winner three times in a row. “I’m happy about the points we were able to score again. We’re in a good position in the World Championship battle. I’m happy about that.”
“But it was already a really challenging rally on Thursday, and on Friday we had a small problem [a coolant leak], and it took a while to figure out what was wrong, fix it, and so on.”
“But after that, the car was really reliable, and the performance was spot on. Still, it wasn’t just about driving at full throttle from start to finish, which is quite different from Estonia and Finland.”
“Here, you just had to stay in control,” says Pajari about the challenging terrain in Paraguay. “I was in the lead and had to keep the gap and my tires under control, and a lot more besides.”
“I tried to drive smart, and looking back now, it seems like that’s exactly what we did.” Thanks to his recent successes, Pajari now has a realistic chance at the world championship title.
He trails his Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans by just 20 points. Three rallies remain on the calendar: Chile, Sardinia, and Saudi Arabia. Will the chance at the world championship now change Pajari’s approach?
“The title fight is underway, but I’ll continue to do my best. I’m not saying it will be easy or anything like that, and I’m not focusing too much on winning [the title] either.”