Will Sami Pajari steal the WRC2 title from Oliver Solberg in Japan?

Due to the low number of Rally1s, WRC2 was one of the major focuses in 2024. The quality of the grids, the diversity of the profiles of the players and the performances of the cars made it possible to compensate for the incongruity of the regulations which require participants to choose 7 meetings (6 results retained) out of 13 rounds. With this imperative, the contenders did not clash often and this is exactly what will happen in Japan.

At the start of this final round, Oliver Solberg is still leading the championship. He has a 15-point lead over Sami Pajari, but he will not be able to defend his position since he will be absent, unlike the Finn. To prevent the Swede from taking the crown, Pajari must win or finish 2^e. For someone who has already won three times this year (Sardinia, Poland and Acropolis) and who made a good debut in Rally1, the task does not seem insurmountable.

"I don't feel any particular pressure related to the rally in himself, Sami Pajari told the WRC. One event earlier and things could have gone wrong and our title chances would have gone. We are happy to be in this position and we will approach it as just another rally. We will do our best and we will see the result at the end. We have learned and improved in all areas. We have been consistently fast throughout the season, with podiums on various rallies. I feel like this year has flown by before the last race. The victories in Sardinia, Poland and Greece were highlights, not to mention my experiences driving Rally1.

À Toyota City, he will have to be wary of Nikolay Gryazin who will have a C3 Rally2 from the PH-Sport team and Fergus Greensmith. If the new Bulgarian is indeed a threat as his recent demonstration in central Europe attests, the Englishman has often appeared out of the running this season. Even if he has already assured that he will do everything to help Solberg, his team-mate at Toksport, Gus does not appear to be an opponent for Pajari.

For the young Nordic (23 years old on 1^er December), winning the title would be an excellent way to close his Rally2 period and turn to the Yaris Rally1 next year.

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