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Toyota drivers Pajari and Solberg struggle at WRC Rally of Greece
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Finland /Sports

Toyota drivers Pajari and Solberg struggle at WRC Rally of Greece

From Helsingin Sanomat · () Finnish

Translated from Finnish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Toyota driver Sami Pajari is experiencing a difficult weekend at the WRC Rally of Greece, falling over three minutes behind the leaders.
  • Oliver Solberg, another Toyota driver, crashed out on the seventh special stage after a difficult run.
  • Thierry Neuville leads the rally, followed by his Hyundai teammate Adrien Fourmaux and Toyota's Sebastien Ogier.

Finnish driver Sami Pajari is facing a challenging WRC Rally of Greece, with his race becoming a "truly painful spectacle" for the Toyota team.

What? So in such a slow corner driven at second gear... incomprehensible.

โ€” Jari KetomaaRally expert commenting on Oliver Solberg's crash.

Pajari's Friday started well, but he encountered numerous problems, leaving him more than three minutes behind the leaders after the seventh special stage. Earlier, on the fourth special stage, Pajari lost time and was seen stopping mid-stage, possibly to adjust his seatbelt, which could result in a time penalty. He later suffered a puncture on the fifth stage after hitting a loose stone on the racing line, further increasing his deficit.

This is a matter of concentration, that the thought doesn't keep up.

โ€” Jari KetomaaRally expert analyzing Solberg's driving error.

Adding to Toyota's woes, young driver Oliver Solberg crashed out on the seventh special stage. According to rally expert Jari Ketomaa, Solberg went off in a slow corner, a mistake Ketomaa found "incomprehensible," especially since Solberg was not in contention for the lead at the time. Ketomaa noted Solberg's history of driving errors this season, including incidents in Croatia, the Canary Islands, and Japan.

Oh my goodness... terrible. I would somehow still understand it if they were fighting for the rally win or the world championship on the last day, that windshields and roofs are flying off the car.

โ€” Jari KetomaaRally expert expressing surprise at Solberg's mistake while not fighting for the lead.

Thierry Neuville of Hyundai leads the rally by 9.7 seconds over Toyota's Sebastien Ogier. Adrien Fourmaux, also from Hyundai, is third, 32.7 seconds behind his teammate. The rally saw an unexpected stage win from Ford's Jon Armstrong on the fifth special stage, his first at World Championship level, but he later suffered a puncture.

There was a big loose stone right on the racing line, and I couldn't avoid it. It's not our race today.

โ€” Sami PajariPajari explaining the cause of his tire puncture.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Helsingin Sanomat in Finnish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.