Sami Pajari will make his Rally1 debut at next month’s Rally Latvia with Toyota.
Toyota will field an additional fourth Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid for Sami Pajari on next month’s Rally Latvia.
The 22-year-old won the JWRC (Junior WRC) title in 2021 and claimed his first WRC2 victory at last year’s Rally Finland.
Pajari is currently joint third in the WRC2 standings after winning the category at last weekend’s Rally Sardinia with the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.
Pajari: ‘There are so many new things to learn’
“It feels amazing to have this opportunity with Toyota. This is something that I have been working towards for many years, but it is not so often that there is a seat available in a Rally1 car. It will be a huge challenge because there are so many new things to learn, and the pace at the top level is also really high. But I will try to not focus on the result too much or feel any pressure on that side, and just aim to enjoy and gain all the experience I can for the future.
“At least in Latvia the stages are mostly fast and flowing, something that I’m quite used to from Finland, and it’s also basically a fresh event for everyone, so in this sense we are more or less starting from the same place as the top drivers. I hope that if we can do well, then maybe there can be a chance for something nice in the future, but that’s something I can only think about much later. For now, I’ll just focus on this one rally and enjoy it,” Pajari said.
Likely 10 Rally1 cars at Rally Latvia
Pajari’s Rally1 drive for Rally Latvia will likely mean there will be 10 Rally1 cars for the inaugural Rally Latvia as part of the WRC.
Alongside the 8 full-time Rally1 drives, Mārtiņš Sesks was confirmed to compete with a Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid on his home event. Today’s Pajari Rally1 debut confirmation makes it 10 Rally1 cars.
Photo: Toyota Gazoo Racing