Sami Pajari – Marko Salminen finished third in the Safari Rally Kenya, which concluded on Sunday. The rally turned out to be one of the toughest in years due to heavy rains before the event. More rain fell during the rally that began on Thursday, with the exception of the final day on Sunday. The cars’ mechanics were pushed to the limit by mud that found its way everywhere, especially as it began to dry. As in many previous years, the crews who avoided major problems ended up at the top of the results.
Only two special stages were run on Thursday, the opening day of the rally, but the very first stage already showed what was to come. Camp Moran, measuring 24.35 km, produced large time gaps. Pajari’s crew set the fifth fastest time but lost more than two minutes to the stage winner. The following stage was drier, and Pajari responded with the second fastest time, just 0.4 seconds off the fastest. After the opening day, the crew held fifth place, with Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 cars occupying positions 1–5.
“The opening stage conditions were possibly the most challenging I’ve ever driven in. The time loss was quite big, but the crews behind us lost even more. The start was difficult, but on the second stage I already had a better feeling.”
Friday’s program was shortened immediately in the morning as the second pass of Camp Moran was cancelled due to conditions. The first stage of the day became Loldia, where the Finnish duo set the second fastest time, although the driver was not fully satisfied.
“It wasn’t a great feeling. We had a small moment in one uphill hairpin where the car started to tip. We actually had to reverse there.”
The next stage, Kengen Geothermal (just over 13 km), brought Pajari his first stage win of the weekend, beating Sébastien Ogier by three seconds. The strong pace also resulted in a small incident, as the car brushed a dirt bank in a left over a crest near the end of the stage.
“I tried to push a bit on this stage. There was a small moment at the end. I don’t think anything serious happened; the car still feels good to drive,” Pajari said afterwards.
Before the midday service, the pair claimed another stage win on the 13.94 km Kedong stage, this time 3.6 seconds faster than Takamoto Katsuta.
The afternoon continued at a strong pace when Kedong was run again, producing the second fastest time, just one second behind teammate Ogier. Mechanical reliability is essential for success in this rally, and ensuring everything worked properly took some extra time. Pajari’s crew received around 20 seconds of time penalty for leaving service late. However, they still moved up one position when Katsuta suffered a double puncture on a stage.
Pajari set two more fastest stage times during the afternoon and was the quickest driver overall on stage times that day. In the overall standings, the gap to rally leader Oliver Solberg was reduced by about a minute during Friday despite the penalty.
“A good day for us. The conditions were clearer and I tried to choose the sections where you could push harder. In the rougher and more difficult places I drove more carefully, but we still managed four stage wins and were close to the front on the others. Here you can’t go flat out all the time — it won’t last long. You have to be smart, and that will be important on tomorrow’s stages as well, where we’ve seen rain and drama before.”
Saturday started with challenges. Soysambu (24.94 km) offered mud and an unexpected issue that made driving considerably more difficult. The crew set the fifth fastest time but lost almost half a minute to the leaders. Nevertheless, they moved up to third overall when Ogier, who had been second, suffered a puncture.
“It wasn’t easy. For some reason the windscreen washer didn’t work properly, and on many straights it was hard to see where I was driving.”
The next stage, Elmenteita (18.01 km), delivered drama for the Finnish crew of Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2. Near the end of the stage, a rear tyre exploded spectacularly, ripping open the entire right rear corner of the car. The crew stopped immediately, convinced that more damage had occurred, and changed the tyre on the stage.
“There was a big explosion on a straight — a double puncture. We were sure something else might be broken too. We need to investigate further.”
Many other crews also suffered punctures, and some gave strong feedback at the stage finish because parts of the route had changed slightly after reconnaissance.
Before the service break, the crews still had to tackle Sleeping Warrior (18.41 km), which once again lived up to its name only ironically. Pajari and Salminen fought through the mud with a large hole in the rear corner of their car. They set the fourth fastest time, 50 seconds behind the fastest. Conditions were so extreme that after the Rally1 cars had passed, no further competitors were sent onto the stage.
Several leading crews then dropped out: Elfyn Evans retired when the rear suspension collapsed, while Solberg and Ogier stopped on the road section to service after dried mud caused charging system failures. Suddenly, the entire top three had retired.
After service, the rally returned to Soysambu, now with Takamoto Katsuta leading the rally. Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville was second but soon ran into trouble with punctures and eventually retired when a driveshaft broke. Ford’s Jon Armstrong also encountered issues and spent a long time repairing the car on the stage. Driving in their dust, Pajari and Salminen lost some time but still moved up to third overall.
“We were in dust — first behind one car and then another. A couple of times we practically had to stop,” the driver explained at the finish.
Next, the Finnish duo got their revenge on the Elmenteita stage, setting the fastest time by 4.7 seconds over Katsuta. The day was supposed to end with a shortened repeat of Sleeping Warrior, but due to rain the stage was cancelled entirely. The rally’s top three at that point were Takamoto Katsuta, Adrien Fourmaux and Sami Pajari, none of whom had previously won a WRC event in the top class, making a new winner highly likely.
“I’m sure the day has been interesting for the fans because you never know what will happen next. We weren’t the only ones with problems in the morning, but we were lucky to reach service with the damage we had. The team fixed the car and the afternoon was positive for us — we moved up positions and took a stage win. On Sunday we’ll surely see drivers pushing hard since they have nothing to lose after retiring, but I’ll be satisfied if we can have a clean day and reach the finish.”
Sunday followed Pajari’s plan exactly, with no position changes among the leaders. Crews who had retired earlier pushed hard to collect Sunday and Power Stage points, while the front runners focused on securing their overall positions.
The likeable Japanese driver Takamoto Katsuta, together with his Irish co-driver Aaron Johnston, took their first-ever WRC victory. Pajari and Salminen secured their second consecutive podium finish and the third highest points haul of the weekend with 15 championship points.
“It didn’t look very good yesterday morning, but now we’re on the podium for the second time in a row. A really nice result for us, and Takamoto and Aaron got their first win — I’m very happy for them. We will definitely celebrate this,” Pajari said after the rally.
The season continues on asphalt in Croatia on April 10–12.