Rising star Sami Pajari will have the opportunity to continue his development at the highest level of the FIA World Rally Championship when he drives for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team at the upcoming Rally Chile and Central European Rally.
Pajari and co-driver Enni Mälkönen enjoyed a positive debut in a GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID on Rally Finland at the beginning of August, scoring a maiden stage win on their first full day of competition and finishing a demanding event in an excellent fourth position overall.
Subsequently, they continued their successful WRC2 campaign with the GR Yaris Rally2 car at last weekend’s Acropolis Rally in Greece where they took their third win of the season with an assured drive in tough conditions.
On the basis of these latest impressive performances, TGR-WRT has decided to present Pajari with the chance to further test his skills in the top category, as part of its belief and commitment in developing young talent on different roads around the world.
The 22-year-old has been brought into the team’s four-car line-up for the next round in Chile on September 26-29, when he will join Kalle Rovanperä, Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier in action on the varied gravel stages of the South American event.
Takamoto Katsuta will return to the team’s line-up for the rest of the season at the Central European Rally and his home event, Rally Japan. The team continues to give Katsuta, as well as co-driver Aaron Johnston, its full support and hopes this short break in an intense and competitive season can provide an opportunity to reset and come back stronger.
At the Central European Rally on October 17-20, the team’s full line-up will therefore comprise of Evans, Ogier, Katsuta and Pajari taking to technical asphalt roads in Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria.
Pajari’s GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID will once more feature a predominantly white livery underlining TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s investment in the development of young talent through the TGR WRC Challenge Program, which since 2015 has supported drivers in developing their skills and achieving their dreams. His outing at the Central European Rally has been arranged in collaboration with WRC Promoter as part of its efforts to support proven talent from the support categories in making the final step into the top class.
Quotes:
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“After the great performance that Sami Pajari showed at Rally Finland, we wanted to see more of what he can do in a Rally1 car. The main goal in Finland was to gain experience, but he already demonstrated his high potential. In Greece too, he again showed the high level he’s been driving at with the GR Yaris Rally2 car. As we look to invest further in talented young drivers for the future, it’s important to learn more about Sami’s abilities, firstly on some different gravel roads on the other side of the world in Chile, and then on asphalt in Central Europe. He will be driving a fourth car, so there is no pressure upon him to contribute towards the championship. For us it’s more about investing in the future and gaining that experience. For Taka, it has been a tough season, but he has the full support of the team and everybody knows that he has the speed. With this break, he has a chance to reset and recharge ready for the last two events which will be important – especially Rally Japan of course, where we hope he can be fighting for the podium places again.”
Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“It is amazing to have this chance to drive the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID on two more events this season. It feels really nice to know that TGR-WRT is putting this trust in me. Rally Finland was like a dream come true for me, and after that of course I just wanted to drive a Rally1 car more and more, but I could not have expected that the opportunity would come again so soon. I’m really looking forward to Rally Chile, with some nice gravel roads that are mostly flowing and high-speed, so a bit similar to Finland. Central Europe can be even more demanding given how wet and muddy we saw it can be last year. For my first time in a Rally1 car on asphalt on such a rally, it could be quite a challenge but it’s one that I’m really happy to face, of course.”
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