Sami Pajari hopes this week’s World Rally Championship three-way title decider in Sardinia will be decided by “pure driving” and not by issues affecting the title contenders.
The Toyota driver heads into the final round 17 points adrift of championship leader Elfyn Evans with a maximum of 35 points to be claimed on Sardinia’s gravel stages. While Pajari is focused on overhauling Evans, Toyota team-mate Oliver Solberg is also in the fight to claim a maiden world title, just four points behind the Finn.
Pajari admits that he is not in the “best position” but is ready to deliver the “best job” he can to claim what would be a remarkable world title in only his second full-time season in Rally1.
But above all, the Finn wishes the title race to not be decided by punctures or mechanical issues. In Chile last time out Evans suffered a puncture in the penultimate stage that dented his title bid.
“We are well in the fight, [but] it is not the best position. We are many points still behind Elfyn and of course the road position is tricky, but it’s another thing. We are all very close to each other fighting for the win,” said Pajari.
“I hope we can have a good race and hopefully not too many issues for any one of us. Hopefully we can decide the winner by pure driving but you never know.
“It is a tricky rally and I really like it here. It is very tricky and we have seen many times that there can be some tyre issue or other things can go wrong so it is normally not too straightforward. But I hope we can do the best job we can with my driving and with the car but also we need to have this small piece of luck for our side.”
Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Toyota Racing
FIA amends tyre allocation for title decider
Tyres have proved to be a hot topic this season which has resulted in the FIA taking action for the final two rounds of the season, following a spate of failures suffered at Rally Paraguay.
At the following Rally Chile, the Hankook tyre allocation for Rally1 crews increased from 28 to 36 tyres. Tyre exchange zones were also introduced allowing crews to swap two worn tyres for two fresh tyres to alleviate some of the stress on the rubber. It proved to be a move that was welcomed by drivers and teams.
Last week the FIA issued a bulletin to teams confirming another tweak to the tyre allocation and rules for this week’s final round in Sardinia.
Rally1 crews will have 40 tyres [including shakedown] allocated, up by four compared to Chile. Rally2 crews will have their allocation increased to 30 tyres.
Tyre exchange zones will return with crews allowed to swap two tyres at refuel zones, 2.5, 7 and 10 during the stage loops across Friday and Saturday. On Sunday crews can exchange all four tyres at refuel zone 13, held before the final two stages.
The number of personnel permitted to operate in these exchange zones is limited to four per Rally1 manufacturer and two for all other competitors.
Team vehicles may enter the area no earlier than 15 minutes before the expected arrival time of the rally car they are supporting. Team members may only supply tyres to the crew. Providing any assistance, tools, or spare parts is prohibited.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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