The FIA World Rally Championship season got underway at the weekend with the traditional Rallye Monte-Carlo. Conditions on the Monte were exceptionally challenging, as the weather delivered water in all its forms: snow, sleet and icy road surfaces. Sami Pajari’s season opener ultimately ended in retirement on Saturday.
The rally began on Thursday, and already on the second special stage Sami Pajari and co-driver Marko Salminen ran into trouble. A frozen road surface caught them out, the car struck a bridge barrier and sustained damage to the rear-left corner. Thursday’s leg ended in retirement. After repairs in service, the team was able to get the car back out and the crew rejoined the rally on Friday.
“The season didn’t start the way we planned. It’s a big disappointment,” Pajari said after the first off.
After Thursday’s setback, there was a small glimmer of hope on Friday’s penultimate special stage (SS8), where the crew set the fourth-fastest time following a difficult opening half of the rally. Friday was largely spent trying different set-ups and experimenting with various solutions.
“After Thursday we tried different things and aimed to maximise what we could, also from a testing point of view. The conditions were extremely demanding all day, with very difficult tyre choices in tricky conditions. A lot of it was something we hadn’t really experienced before. The pace did improve, but there was still plenty of room for improvement.”
Saturday’s conditions were even unusually snowy by recent Monte Carlo standards. The morning was approached cautiously, in as much as anything can ever be fully safe in this rally. Stage 12 of Saturday afternoon proved particularly treacherous, as the morning snow had in places turned into deceptively slushy snow. Several drivers ran into problems.
Pajari was one of many to go off on the stage. His line through a corner ran wide towards the snowbank and the car eventually came to a halt against a tree, bringing another retirement for the day. Fortunately, both driver and co-driver escaped unharmed. After assessing the damage and determining that the car could not be repaired within the available time, the team decided to withdraw the crew from the rally.
The season did not begin as Pajari had hoped. In a rally like Monte Carlo and especially in conditions seemingly designed to test even Monte by its own standards, it is extremely difficult to turn things around mid-event.
“The weekend was a disappointment, definitely not what we were aiming for. I’m also sorry for the team and the fans that we didn’t succeed and that I made mistakes. Now we’ll focus on the things we need to improve,” Pajari said.
Preparation had gone well, and Pajari arrived at the event feeling optimistic ahead of the new season.
“Before the rally I had a good feeling, even better than ever before heading into Monte. But right from the start of the rally it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t find the pace, and still we were making mistakes. A really confusing weekend.”
“It even felt desperate. When it doesn’t come, it just doesn’t come. I don’t think I’ve ever driven such a bad rally from my own perspective. I don’t mean the performance as such, but overall how everything felt. Suddenly everything was really difficult,” Pajari concluded.
Now it’s time to reset and turn focus towards Rally Sweden.