The Japanese brand is very keen to see Sami Pajari in the top WRC league next year
Sami Pajari remains part of Toyota’s World Rally Championship (WRC) talks for 2025 after the Finn impressed management at the Rally Chile. Pajari made a surprise return to gravel rallying in South America for his second Rally1 appearance for the Japanese brand, replacing regular driver Takamoto Katsuta, who will be back in action at the Central Europe Rally.
Facing difficult weather conditions at a rally new to Pajari, the Finn handled the conditions well to finish as high as fourth on Friday before finishing sixth overall from 16 stages. The result followed his impressive fourth place finish in his Rally1 debut with Toyota in Finland in August.
Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala describes Pajari’s performance as “the perfect result” given the circumstances he faced. After Rally Finland, the 22-year-old was among the team’s options for 2025.
Following the Acropolis Rally, Latvala stated that Toyota needs at least three full-time drivers to be able to attack again next year. Kalle Rovanpera and Elfyn Evans are expected to lead the team on a full-time basis. Part-time driver Sebastien Ogier has indicated that he is open to another part-time engagement next year. At the same time, the team has pledged its support to Katsuta, who has been part of the team since 2020.
One word for Sunday morning: Tricky ️ ToyotaGAZOORacing GRYaris WRC pic.twitter.com/c9MmFm0rJV
— TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) September 29, 2024
“He [Sami] did a perfectly perfect job; he did exactly what we expected him to do,” says Latvala. “We couldn’t have asked for more. We wanted him to drive consistently, and we can see that he is fast. He said himself that he could do more, but I told him that we just want him to do more kilometers and feel more comfortable in the car.“
”There will be more steps to climb in the future. From what we have seen, I would be very interested in him doing more rallies next year. There are talks, but no decisions yet.”
Looking back on his drive in Chile, Pajari feels that he has learned a lot for the future from his stint: “I didn’t expect to be here, but it was a really nice opportunity and I’m very grateful to the team for making this possible for me again.”
“I think this rally has brought a lot of positives because I was clean out there and the conditions were really tricky. I put in a few really good times and on Friday the pace was really good, but the other two days were about learning and persevering.”
Pajari is available for another Rally1 assignment with Toyota at the Central Europe Rally. This was announced in connection with the announcement of his assignment in Chile.