Pajari Positioned Well for Rally Latvia

The season continues for Sami Pajari and Enni Mälkönen in the WRC2 class as they head into the Latvian round of the WRC, which kicks off this Thursday. The Finnish duo, driving the Printsport Racing Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, have clinched victories in the last two rounds, thrusting themselves into the championship battle. Strong results are expected once again in Latvia.

Although the Latvian round is new to the WRC series, it is familiar to many from the European Rally Championship. When talking about the Baltic region and rallying, two things typically stand out: the fast roads and the enthusiastic spectators.

After winning the Polish round, Pajari's crew is considered one of the top contenders for victory on the fast Latvian roads in the WRC2 class. In WRC2, drivers can select seven events to accumulate points, with the six best results counting towards the championship.

Pajari’s crew will start their fifth point-scoring event of the season in Latvia. Citroen's Yohan Rossel, who leads the WRC2 standings, will not compete in Latvia, and although his teammate Nikolay Gryazin, currently fourth in the standings, will participate, he will not score points.

Pajari's team is second in the championship standings, just three points behind Rossel. Thus, the weekend offers a chance to take the lead. Skoda driver Oliver Solberg, third in the standings and seven points behind Pajari, also has an opportunity to claim the top spot.

In the WRC2 Challenger category, Pajari has a solid lead, which he can extend further in Latvia. This title cannot be contested by drivers who have won the WRC2 championship or have scored team points in a WRC team.

Pajari has experience with the Latvian course from three years ago, with some familiar sections included in this rally.

"In Liepaja, I competed in the ERC round in 2021, and it was warm then too. Roughly half of the route is somewhat familiar, either the same or reversed. It’s fast and varied, with wide and narrow sections, but mostly very fast. There might be more rhythm changes than in many other rallies, and there's a lot of loose gravel, but with our starting place, it probably won’t affect us much anymore," Pajari reflects.

"This rally is quite similar to PolaThe Latvian round includes a total of 20 special stages, covering 300 kilometers. The shakedown takes place on Thursday morning near Liepaja on the west coast, followed by a ceremonial start and an 11-kilometer opening stage at the Bikernieki motor racing circuit in Riga in the evening.On Friday, the rally moves west along the coast towards Tukums and Talsi, with seven special stages covering almost 121 kilometers, without a formal midday service.nd. A unique feature here is that some stages are run only once or partially twice. The harder sections are driven twice, while the less durable sections are only driven once. So, there likely won’t be any extremely broken sections, but it will be rutted in places," Pajari muses.

Originally, Pajari’s team was set to attack the Latvian gravel with a Toyota Rally1 car, but their debut in the top-class vehicle will now take place at the Finnish WRC event at the end of August. Initial tests with the car have been completed, and according to the driver, adapting back to the Rally2 car was not difficult.

"It was a great experience to drive the Rally1 car, and it is an amazing machine. It feels like you drive a bit faster everywhere, but there are many differences between the cars in the end."

"We also drove our Rally2 car for a couple of days to prepare for Latvia, and it felt very familiar again. It’s a really fast car as well. If I had to try driving a full-speed in a less powerful historic car, then maybe that would start to feel slow," says Pajari.

The Latvian round includes a total of 20 special stages, covering 300 kilometers. The shakedown takes place on Thursday morning near Liepaja on the west coast, followed by a ceremonial start and an 11-kilometer opening stage at the Bikernieki motor racing circuit in Riga in the evening.

On Friday, the rally moves west along the coast towards Tukums and Talsi, with seven special stages covering almost 121 kilometers, without a formal midday service.

Saturday’s 104 kilometers consist of eight special stages northeast of Liepaja, except for a special stage in Liepaja city center at the end of the day. In line with the current format, although Saturday has fewer kilometers, there is a midday service break.

Sunday’s program includes two special stages run twice east of Liepaja, covering just over 64 kilometers, with the final stage starting after 2 PM.