The Sami Pajari – Marko Salminen pairing finished seventh at Rally Portugal, which concluded on Sunday, May 10. The sixth round of the WRC season appeared set to deliver a fifth consecutive podium finish for the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 crew, but a puncture on the penultimate special stage dropped them from third to seventh overall. Team-mate Sébastien Ogier also suffered a puncture while leading the rally and eventually slipped to sixth place.
The Portuguese rally began on Thursday with three special stages, after which Pajari and Salminen held sixth place overall, 10.7 seconds from the lead. Starting near the front of the field on gravel — third on the road — was a new experience for Pajari, and already on the opening stage he struggled with poor front-end response from the car. The feeling did not improve much during the remainder of the day.
“Something feels different compared to the tests and shakedown. I’m definitely not satisfied. We need to find something for Friday,” Pajari admitted.
Friday featured a loop of three stages in the morning and four more in the afternoon. Pajari immediately made use of the overnight moisture still lingering on the roads and blasted to the fastest time on the opening stage. He followed that up with another stage win on Arganil, climbing to second overall in the process.
The third stage of the morning did not bring another fastest time, but the Finnish crew remained firmly in contention and arrived at the remote service still holding second place.
“We tried to find something for today. At least the feeling with the car is better now — we’ll try to continue like this.”
The repeated afternoon run through Arganil caused frustration when Pajari stalled the car in a hairpin, instantly dropping from second to fifth overall. The stage itself was filled with drama, as a recovery vehicle first appeared ahead of Elfyn Evans, while later another unauthorized vehicle also found its way onto the live stage.
Further spins on the next two stages, combined with improving road conditions for the cars behind, complicated matters further. Despite that, Pajari fought back to reclaim third place overall by the end of the day.
Even the final stage of Friday included extra drama after a stone shattered the windscreen.
“The final stage went quite well. The windscreen cracked from a stone impact, so there was action all day long. We lost some time through small incidents, but otherwise it was a pretty good day and we’re still in the fight.”
Saturday’s itinerary consisted of four morning stages and five more in the afternoon. Pajari started strongly once again, taking fastest time on the opening stage and reducing Ogier’s lead from 15.2 to 10.7 seconds.
“I went all-in on that stage. Nothing more to add,” Pajari said bluntly.
The next three stages were less spectacular, with the largest time loss coming on a rain-soaked fourth stage where Pajari conceded 10.5 seconds to the benchmark time. Despite this, he remained fourth overall and only 8.1 seconds from the lead.
“We lost a lot of time even though I didn’t feel like I was driving cautiously. We need to push harder — we’re not giving up.”
After service, the pace improved again. Pajari posted two second-fastest times and, looking only at Saturday’s stage times, had briefly been the fastest driver of the day overall.
Then Ogier responded with authority. On the second pass through Amarante, the French veteran delivered a crushing stage win by over 11 seconds, pushing both Thierry Neuville and Pajari further back. Despite determined efforts from the chasing pack, the multiple world champion maintained control.
The day ended with slippery conditions and rain on the rallycross circuit stage.
“In the end it was a pretty good day. The final stage in the rain was probably great entertainment for the fans — not so much for us.”
Heading into Sunday’s four stages, Ogier led the rally with Neuville 21.9 seconds behind and Pajari a further four seconds back in third. Rain once again played a role, and Pajari immediately encountered issues with the car on the opening stage. Oliver Solberg capitalised and took more than 11 seconds out of the gap in one go.
Although Pajari matched the leaders’ pace on the next stage, he remained frustrated.
“I don’t want to complain, but we still have a problem.”
The penultimate stage, Vieira do Minho, proved decisive. Run earlier in the morning and now repeated, it still had surprises left to offer. Both Pajari and Ogier suffered punctures, allowing Neuville to inherit the lead. Toyota’s consolation came through Solberg and Evans moving into second and third positions.
“There was a loose rock in the line and we hit it. There was nothing we could have done differently,” Pajari explained afterwards.
The final Power Stage in Fafe brought no further changes. Ogier finished sixth overall, Pajari seventh.
“It was a good rally overall. Our performance level was strong throughout the weekend and probably one of our best rallies so far with the Rally1 car. Of course it hurts when a podium slips away, but that’s rallying. We’ll take the positives from this and come back even stronger in the future,” Pajari summed up at the finish.
The championship continues in Japan on May 28–31.