Adrien Fourmaux led most of Friday at Rally del Paraguay, but late trouble allowed Kalle Rovanperä to inherit the overnight lead — something the Finn didn’t expect.
Frenchman Fourmaux dominated Friday’s action, leading for most of the day with a composed drive that put him on the early road to what would be a maiden WRC victory. But 3.5 kilometres from the finish of the penultimate stage, a rock impact punctured one of his Hyundai i20 N Rally1’s tyres and handed the lead to a surprised Rovanperä.
“It’s just a shame for the puncture. But that’s rallying,” said Fourmaux, whose pace had been the standout performance on roads that humbled far more experienced rivals. (Article continues after the X post.)
‼️ SS7 – Puncture for rally leader Fourmaux: "There was a rock in the road – I couldn't avoid it."
— Rallysupport (@RallysupportNL) August 29, 2025
Rovanperä re-takes the lead of the rally, now 7.6s ahead of Fourmaux.#WRC #RallydelParaguay #WRCinParaguay 📷 RallyTV pic.twitter.com/aeZrarQ4JD
Rovanperä inherited first place but made no attempt to hide his struggles on Paraguay’s red gravel roads. The two-time world champion ended 7.1sec clear of Fourmaux despite admitting his performance fell well short of expectations.
Rally leader Rovanperä: ‘We haven’t been the fastest guys today’
“We should be a bit faster, and we haven’t been the fastest guys today,” opined the Finn in a moment of honest reflection. “Position-wise of course it’s good, but I cannot say we are really happy about the performance.”
Paraguay’s WRC debut took many by surprise, with savage compressions and constantly changing grip catching crews completely off-guard. The punishment was so severe that Rovanperä joked he could “hear his back cracking” on the landings.
Ott Tänak sat third, just 0.5sec behind Hyundai i20 N Rally1 team-mate Fourmaux. Behind him, Sébastien Ogier provided the day’s most remarkable storyline, fighting back from disaster to claim fourth overall. The eight-time champion lost over 30 seconds to a puncture on SS2 but won three stages in an inspired recovery drive that keeps his title hopes alive.
“After the misfortune of this morning, for sure we can be happy with the rest of the day,” said Ogier after his stunning fightback.
Championship leader Elfyn Evans began the rally with a three-point lead over Rovanperä but ended 21.1sec back from his Finnish team-mate after suggesting he’d “forgotten how to drive in these conditions”.
Neuville struggles, Pajari stops to change a puncture, Katsuta out
Defending champion Thierry Neuville struggled in sixth, admitting he was “fighting hard” but unable to find pace or comfort after an overshoot and a spin. He headed M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 star Josh McErlean, while Sami Pajari dropped to eighth after stopping to change a wheel on SS7.
Takamoto Katsuta was forced to retire his GR Yaris Rally1 after running wide and losing a rear wheel, while Grégoire Munster languished almost 50 minutes back from the lead after going off the road on SS1. Their misfortunes enabled WRC2 hopefuls Yohan Rossel and Nikolay Gryazin to complete the overall top 10. (Article continues after the X post.)
SS1 – Munster stopped in the first kilometer of the stage.#WRC #RallydelParaguay #WRCinParaguay 📷 RallyTV pic.twitter.com/kaD3UQLNy7
— Rallysupport (@RallysupportNL) August 29, 2025
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WRC Rally Paraguay 2025 – O/A Classification after SS8 (End of Friday)
| # | Drivers | Car | Time / Diff to 1st |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Rovanperä / Halttunen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 1:16:13.3 |
| 2. | Fourmaux / Coria | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +7.1 |
| 3. | Tänak / Järveoja | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +7.6 |
| 4. | Ogier / Landais | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +17.8 |
| 5. | Evans / Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +21.1 |
| 6. | Neuville / Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +25.7 |
| 7. | McErlean / Treacy | Ford Puma Rally1 | +1:18.4 |
| 8. | Pajari / Salminen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +2:24.2 |
| 9. | Rossel / Dunand | Citroën C3 Rally2 | +2:57.6 |
| 10. | Gryazin / Aleksandrov | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +3:06.7 |
Photo, content: Red Bull Content Pool
