Sami Pajari, the calm before the storm?

Will the summer of 2024 remain like the one where the WRC has (finally) undertaken to renew its workforce? After the two convincing appearances of Martins Sesks in the Ford Puma Rally1, in Poland (without hybrid) and in Latvia (with hybrid, see Autohebdo n02472), it is the turn of Sami Pajari to take his first steps in the elite. The Finn will have a Toyota Yaris Rally1 for “his” event. Originally, however, this was not what was planned. This first participation was to take place in Latvia. Toyota's somewhat worrying situation in the championship, where Hyundai dominated, imposed another workforce with the late contribution of Sébastien Ogier. The unavailability of the cars led to a change of plans and Pajari settled for the Rally2. Of course, he would have preferred to take advantage of Latvia's first appearance on the world calendar so that his lack of experience would not be too detrimental. But in Finland, rally mythical, he will have to deal with comrades who know the special stages by heart aboard powerful Rally1s introduced in 2022. In order for these debuts to go well, Toyota tried to place him in the