Finnish driver eyeing podium finish on second bow at Safari Rally

NAIROBI, Kenya, March 9, 2026 – Finnish driver Sami Pajari is dreaming of a podium finish on his second appearance at the WRC Safari Rally.

The youngster says he will try his best to push the bigwigs to final day of the competition in his attempt to go one better than last year’s fourth-place finish.

“Last year was my first time doing the Safari Rally. Really exciting, it’s more like an adventure compared to some of the rallies, and a really unique event. I was happy to do it, and I was fourth last year, so the result was still pretty solid for the first time,” the 24-year-old said.

He added: “For this time I would say I tried to have a little bit better pace. Even though it’s a tricky rally in a way. You need to trust your speed to make sure that you go through and not to get any issue, because it can be sometimes really challenging. But at the same time you need to find the sections where you can push to make a good time.”

Pajari is, however, cautious of the brutal nature of the Safari Rally, which has so many times humbled the who-is-who of the motorsports world by retiring them before the ultimate day of competition.

The 2021 Junior WRC champion has singled out the Sleeping Warrior as one stage that will cause a lot of sleepless nights for drivers.

“There are some many tricky key stages, I would say. It’s easy to make some mistakes almost on all of the stages. We need to maybe mention the Sleeping Warrior, which is always really a difficult stage, a long stage. Normally, you see a lot of animals on the stage, which is really cool, unless they are in the middle of the

road,” Pajari observed.

The youngster added: “It’s a long stage, and you can face really different conditions throughout the stage, so that’s maybe the one to mention. I am trying to prepare for it, of course, the best we can. It’s something really unique you normally face only on this event, and not so much on the other events.”

Equally concerning for Pajari is the effect of the ongoing heavy rains on the course.

He is hopeful that the rains will significantly reduce the fesh-fesh, providing him with more grace to push for the podium.

“I don’t know this time how the weather has been affecting the road, because it has been raining a lot so maybe the fesh-fesh isn’t so bad this year. You need to have some good strategies before you enter this tricky section to make sure you

go through,” Pajari said.

Pajari’s maiden participation at last year’s Safari Rally was a memorable one in which he finished fourth – in a race won by Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Elfyn Evans.

His rise in the upper echelons of motorsports has been meteoric; he followed up his junior title with victory in the WRC2 in 2024.

The youngster says Toyota has been a cornerstone of this success.

“The car has been really reliable, first of all, but also quick, so hoping for good results also this year. It’s nice to be in a Toyota car in Kenya. The car has been basically winning most of the races here, I must say,” he said.

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