Pajari Wins in Paraguay and Closes the Gap on Elfyn Evans in the WRC

Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen won the Rally of Paraguay, their third WRC victory, and all three came back-to-back-to-back, at Estonia, Finland, and now Paraguay. No one had ever debuted in WRC victory lane in that fashion, without a single race in between the first and third wins. The result leaves Pajari twenty points behind Elfyn Evans in the overall drivers' standings, with three rounds remaining.

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The weekend on the red clay roads around Encarnación was not easy for anyone. The high temperatures and constant threat of rain forced teams to install raised air intake systems on their cars, the kind normally only seen at the Rally of Kenya. Pajari and Salminen found themselves outside the top positions on Friday's first stage due to a water leak that they could only fix at the midday service. From there, they built a lead that they managed carefully throughout the rest of the weekend, closing out the rally ahead of Hayden Paddon by less than half a minute.

For Hyundai, Paddon's second place represents one of the team's best results of the year and his best individual result on gravel since 2018, after spending much of the past several years away from a top-class car. After the finish, he said this result felt different from the ones he had achieved before, and acknowledged the support of those who believed in his return.

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Adrien Fourmaux, also with Hyundai, had the most remarkable comeback of the weekend. He was nearly two minutes off the lead after Friday's tire issues, and gradually cut that gap until he was just seconds behind Evans heading into the final day. On Sunday, he got ahead of Evans and finished third, knocking the championship leader off the podium. With Paddon second and Fourmaux third, Hyundai placed two cars in the top three overall for the first time this year.

Oliver Solberg was the first to take the lead on Friday, until he lost nearly four minutes due to a gearbox issue and a tire change. He recovered to finish fifth and won the final stage of the weekend, sharing the fastest time on Sunday with his teammate Sébastien Ogier, who was running under re-start rules after a suspension issue on Friday.

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With this result, Evans remains at the top of the overall standings with 216 points, followed by Pajari with 196 and Solberg with 175. In the manufacturers' championship, Toyota has 554 points compared to Hyundai's 381, with 180 points still available before the end of the year, which keeps the teams' title fight open even though the gap appears large.

The result came at a cost for Takamoto Katsuta, who went off the road on the penultimate stage and rolled his car. Medical staff transported him and his co-driver Aaron Johnston to a nearby hospital for routine checks, and both were discharged the same day without complications.

In the WRC2 category, there was a home victory. Diego Domínguez and Rogelio Peñate won on the same weekend that Toyota achieved a one-two-three finish in that class, something that had not happened before with that model. Domínguez received well wishes from the president of Paraguay before the rally, and after the weekend he said he was thinking above all of his father, to whom he attributes much of his rally career.

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The championship continues in South America without a break. The next round will be the Rally of Chile Bio Bío, from September 10 to 13, with stages located in the forests of the Bio Bío region along the Pacific Ocean. Unlike the red clay roads of Paraguay, this event features fast stages on soft and abrasive gravel, a change in terrain that could alter the order currently held by Evans, Pajari, and Solberg in the overall standings.

WRC Overall - Ueno Rally Del Paraguay 2026

POS	#	drivet/COdriver	team	brand	car	time
1	5	Sami PAJARI Marko SALMINEN	Toyota Gazoo Racing Wrt2	Toyota	Gr Yaris Rally1	3:13:28.5
2	20	Hayden PADDON John KENNARD	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	Hyundai	I20 N Rally1	+ 25.8
3	16	Adrien FOURMAUX Alexandre CORIA	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	Hyundai	I20 N Rally1	+ 40.0
4	33	Elfyn EVANS Scott MARTIN	Toyota Gazoo Racing Wrt	Toyota	Gr Yaris Rally1	+ 45.1
5	99	Oliver SOLBERG Elliott EDMONDSON	Toyota Gazoo Racing Wrt	Toyota	Gr Yaris Rally1	+ 2:57.0
6	55	Joshua MCERLEAN Eoin TREACY	M-sport Ford World Rally Team	Ford	Puma Rally1	+ 4:19.0
7	1	Sébastien OGIER Vincent LANDAIS	Toyota Gazoo Racing Wrt	Toyota	Gr Yaris Rally1	+ 63:41.6
8	11	Thierry NEUVILLE Martijn WYDAEGHE	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	Hyundai	I20 N Rally1	+ 71:49.3
9	27	Diego DOMÍNGUEZ Rogelio PEÑATE	Diego Domínguez	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 7:40.5
10	26	Gus GREENSMITH Jonas ANDERSSON	Gus Greensmith	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 8:03.2
11	34	Alejandro GALANTI Marcelo TOYOTOSHI	Alejandro Galanti	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 10:23.0
12	29	Taylor GILL Daniel BRKIC	Toksport Wrt 2	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 10:36.9
13	23	Nikolay GRYAZIN Konstantin ALEKSANDROV	Lancia Corse Hf	Lancia	Ypsilon Hf	+ 11:56.8
14	24	Yohan ROSSEL Arnaud DUNAND	Lancia Corse Hf	Lancia	Ypsilon Hf	+ 12:06.9
15	35	Miguel ZALDIVAR Luis ALLENDE	Miguel Zaldivar	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 13:26.5
16	38	Augusto BESTARD José DÍAZ	Augusto Bestard	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 16:38.7
17	25	Fau ZALDIVAR Marcelo DER OHANNESIAN	Fau Zaldivar	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 17:47.8
18	40	Miguel Ángel ZALDIVAR Juan SÁNCHEZ	Miguel Ángel Zaldivar	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 21:23.6
19	39	Miguel ORTEGA Diego CAGNOTTI	Miguel Ortega	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 21:48.8
20	45	Miguel GRANADOS Marc MARTÍ	Miguel Granados	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 24:49.6
21	31	Andrea LAFARJA Germán MAUNE	Andrea Lafarja	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 38:02.6
22	28	Yuki YAMAMOTO James FULTON	Printsport	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 38:55.2
23	42	Sebastián BARCHINI Rubén GARCÍA	Sebastián Barchini	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 40:42.1
24	58	Francisco DELGADO Juan CABRERA	Francisco Delgado	Skoda	Fabia Evo	+ 44:40.0
25	57	Sebastián GONZÁLEZ Diego FABIANI	Sebastián González	Skoda	Fabia Evo	+ 48:06.6
26	59	Blas ZAPAG Enrique FRATTA	Blas Zapag	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 50:51.3
27	43	Eugen GOTZE Juan BILBAO	Eugen Gotze	Skoda	Fabia Evo	+ 52:45.0
28	47	César PEDOTTI Nicolás ELIZAUR	César Pedotti	Volkswagen	Polo Gti	+ 61:19.6
29	21	Robert VIRVES Jakko VIILO	Toksport Wrt 2	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 70:25.6
30	37	Fabrizio GALANTI Sebastián GONZÁLEZ	Fabrizio Galanti	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 90:54.9
31	51	Nataniel BRUUN Mario DEL RIEGO	Nataniel Bruun	Ford	Fiesta Rally3	+ 28:33.8
32	49	Eric ROYÈRE Maxime ANDERNACK	Eric Royère	Ford	Fiesta Rally3	+ 43:36.7
33	60	Jorge MARTÍNEZ Marcelo BRIZIO	Jorge Martínez	Ford	Fiesta Rally3	+ 49:02.3
34	52	Naveen PULLIGILLA Musa SHERIF	Naveen Pulligilla	Ford	Fiesta Rally3	+ 102:26.4
35	62	Gabriel DUARTE Luis QUEVEDO	Gabriel Duarte	Peugeot	208 Rally4	+ 47:59.1
36	65	Fabián HERRERA Omar BENÍTEZ	Fabián Herrera	Peugeot	208 Rally4	+ 50:54.0
37	67	Martín TOMÁS Juan PERNIGOTTI	Martín Tomás	Peugeot	208 Rally4	+ 51:13.8
38	68	Miguel FRANCO Pedro SOSA	Miguel Franco	Peugeot	208 Rally4	+ 53:07.8
39	70	Raúl SZARAN Luis AGUERO	Raúl Szaran	Peugeot	208 Rally4	+ 65:17.2
40	72	Kevin VASQUEZ Juan Pablo MONASTEROLO	Kevin Vazquez	Peugeot	208 Rally4	+ 73:50.7
41	71	Sergio ZARZA Hugo ESPINOLA	Sergio Zarza	Peugeot	208 Rally4	+ 82:55.4
42	61	Iván WASMOSY Gonzalo DÍAZ	Iván Wasmosy	Peugeot	208 Rally4	+ 106:34.2
43	66	Armando MEDINA Gerardo BENÍTEZ	Armando Medina	Peugeot	208 Rally4	+ 124:36.7
44	69	Pedro LAGRAVA Gustavo ROJAS	Pedro Lagrava	Peugeot	208 Rally4	+ 176:45.8