Sami Pajari claimed victory on Rally Paraguay to complete a hat-trick of WRC wins. After taking his maiden WRC victory in Estonia and following that up with a dream home win in Finland, Pajari made it three in a row in Paraguay.
The 24-year-old Toyota driver was the only Rally1 competitor to stay out of trouble on a chaotic opening day, as punctures immediately turned the rally on its head.
Chaos from the first stage
Takamoto Katsuta rolled his Toyota in the opening stage and was unable to continue. Shortly afterwards, Sébastien Ogier suffered a puncture, before Thierry Neuville also ran into tyre trouble.
Neuville damaged the suspension of his Hyundai as a result of the puncture and was forced to retire immediately after SS1. On the following stage, Ogier picked up a front-left puncture after a minor mistake and stopped to change the tyre. However, the Frenchman had also damaged his suspension. He attempted to reach service using a temporary repair with a spanner, but the solution failed on SS3. The nine-time world champion was therefore also forced to retire.
The third stage proved to be just as chaotic. Adrien Fourmaux and Oliver Solberg both suffered punctures and changed their tyres on the stage. Solberg also experienced a bizarre moment when his engine briefly cut out, sending him straight on at a corner. With the help of spectators, he managed to restart the car, but lost more than four minutes.
Both M-Sport drivers, Jon Armstrong and Josh McErlean, also suffered punctures on the stage. Armstrong damaged, among other things, his brake lines as a result of the puncture and had to tackle SS4 with reduced braking power.
Championship leader Elfyn Evans also suffered a puncture on SS3, but opted not to stop and change the tyre. He lost 17 seconds to Hayden Paddon, who surprisingly moved into the lead ahead of McErlean, Evans and Pajari. (Article continues after the photo.)
Pajari stays out of trouble
Paddon then suffered a puncture on SS6 during the afternoon loop, with the 34-kilometre Yerbateras still to come. On the second run through Yerbateras (SS7), Pajari made his move.
The Finn stayed out of trouble while Paddon suffered another puncture. Fourmaux punctured both rear tyres but opted not to stop.
Evans began suffering from a delamination on the right-rear tyre from kilometre 12 onwards, which resulted in a puncture from around kilometre 20. The Welshman nevertheless decided to continue. It proved to be the right call, as he lost ‘only’ a minute.
Pajari, the only Rally1 driver to avoid a puncture, led the rally by 11.9 seconds at the end of the opening day. Paddon was second, with Evans 56.3 seconds off the lead and Fourmaux 1:51 behind.
Pajari encountered a problem with a water leak at the start of Friday. The issue caused a loss of power on SS2, but the Finn and co-driver Marko Salminen managed to fix it themselves. (Article continues after the photo.)
Forecast rain never arrived
Saturday began with stormy conditions in the service park in Encarnación. Heavy rain had been forecast throughout the weekend, although the stages ultimately remained completely dry. The service park, however, was hit by torrential rain.
Pajari was able to consolidate his lead and extended his advantage to 24.1 seconds over the course of Saturday. The star of the day was Fourmaux, who won five stages and was comfortably the fastest driver across Saturday, finishing the day 24.5 seconds quicker than Sébastien Ogier.
Fourmaux was 51.7 seconds faster than Evans over the course of Saturday, allowing him to finish the day just 3.3 seconds behind the Welshman. (Article continues after the photo.)
Fourmaux moved ahead of the championship leader on Sunday’s opening stage. He held on to the position through to the final stage to secure a hard-fought and well-deserved podium finish.
The Frenchman eventually finished 40 seconds behind rally winner Pajari, having been almost two minutes off the lead after Friday.
Pajari secured his third consecutive victory by 25.8 seconds over Hayden Paddon. The New Zealander claimed his second podium of the season in his first gravel rally with the Rally1-specification Hyundai i20 N.
Oliver Solberg won the Power Stage to pick up a further four points for Super Sunday. The Swede eventually finished fifth overall, ahead of Josh McErlean and WRC2 winner Diego Domínguez, who was competing on home soil. WRC2 drivers Gus Greensmith, Alejandro Galanti and Taylor Gill completed the top ten.
Armstrong was on course for seventh overall but failed to reach the finish after making a mistake on SS20. Katsuta went off the road for a second time on the penultimate stage, heavily damaging his Toyota. The Japanese driver and co-driver Aaron Johnston were both unhurt, but the stage was stopped following the crash.
Evans continues to lead championship, Pajari closes gap to 20 points
With three rallies remaining, Evans continues to lead the championship standings. However, his Toyota team-mate Pajari has closed the gap to 20 points. Oliver Solberg moves up to third, helped by Katsuta’s scoreless weekend. In the manufacturers’ championship, Hyundai narrowly kept Toyota at bay thanks to its double podium finish. (Article continues after the photo.)
The WRC returns in two weeks’ time as the South American leg continues in Chile, with Rally Chile taking place from 10 to 13 September.
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WRC Rally del Paraguay 2026 – Final results
| # | Drivers | Car | Time / Diff to 1st |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Pajari / Salminen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 3:13:28.5 |
| 2. | Paddon / Kennard | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +25.8 |
| 3. | Fourmaux / Coria | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +40.0 |
| 4. | Evans / Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +45.1 |
| 5. | Solberg / Edmondson | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +2:57.0 |
| 6. | McErlean / Treacy | Ford Puma Rally1 | +4:19.0 |
| 7. | Domínguez / Peñate | Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 | +7:40.5 |
| 8. | Greensmith / Andersson | Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 | +8:03.2 |
| 9. | Galanti / Toyotoshi | Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 | +10:23.0 |
| 10. | Gill / Brkic | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +10:36.9 |
WRC 2026 Drivers’ Championship – Standings after Round 11/14 [Top 10]
| # | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Elfyn Evans | 216 |
| 2. | Sami Pajari | 196 (-20) |
| 3. | Oliver Solberg | 175 (-41) |
| 4. | Takamoto Katsuta | 160 (-56) |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | 149 (-67) |
| 6. | Sébastien Ogier | 148 (-68) |
| 7. | Thierry Neuville | 129 (-87) |
| 8. | Hayden Paddon | 38 (-178) |
| 9. | Josh McErlean | 29 (-187) |
| 10. | Esapekka Lappi | 25 (-191) |
WRC 2026 Manufacturers’ Championship – Standings after Round 11/14
| # | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT | 554 |
| 2. | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | 381 (-173) |
| 3. | Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT 2 | 210 (-344) |
| 4. | M-Sport Ford WRT | 138 (-416) |
Photos: Red Bull Content Pool, Hyundai Motorsport, Toyota GAZOO Racing
