Despite a ‘big moment’: Toyota driver Pajari continues to lead the Rally Paraguay

Thanks to the luck of the brave, Pajari nevertheless extended his lead over Hyundai driver Hayden Paddon to 22.8 seconds heading into the big service after the twelfth special stage. On SS11, Pajari went off the road in a fast left-hand bend and clipped an embankment with his GR Yaris. The car was sent flying through the air on two wheels. The impact tore off the top of the rear wing, but he was ultimately able to continue to the finish without any mechanical damage.

“It wasn’t just this incident. On another special stage, we even drove into a small tree,” Pajari reported at the finish of SS12. “It’s quite a mad rally – even if the conditions aren’t quite as bad as feared, it’s still a very demanding event.”

The fact that Pajari was very lucky during the incident became apparent a few runs later with Romet Jürgenson. The leading WRC2 driver from M-Sport had been the fastest in his class according to split times, but then went off the track in the very same bend. He crashed the rear of his Fiesta Rally2 into the outer embankment, which, with the front end destroyed, meant an early end to his race.

Toyota-Youngster Sami Pajari führt Rallye Paraguay weiter an

Foto: Red Bull

All the drivers were taken by surprise by the unexpectedly dry conditions. However, on Saturday morning, torrential rain and strong winds had taken such a heavy toll on the service park that many team tents were badly damaged. On the special stages themselves, the storm and its aftermath played no part.

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Rallye Paraguay: Powerstage

FIA World Rally Championship

30.08.2026 - 19:00

Paddon, who finished in a surprise second place after capitalising on his rivals’ misfortune during yesterday’s chaotic day, has so far been unable to find a fast rhythm today. To make matters worse, a false puncture warning on his Hyundai during the Bella Vista Sur special stage had thrown him off his stride.

World Championship leader Elfyn Evans (Toyota) closed the gap on the New Zealander. The Welshman set the fastest time on the Bella Vista stage and made up 11.7 seconds on Paddon across the four special stages on Saturday morning. However, he expressed some disappointment with his run at Bella Vista Sur, as he felt he had driven too cautiously and lost too much time to his rivals.

Der Hyundai mit Hayden Paddon im Spiegelbild doppelt

Foto: Red Bull

Evans is concerned about Adrien Fourmaux’s rapid progress. The Hyundai driver was the fastest on the morning loop and won two special stages. However, in fourth place, the Frenchman still trails Evans by a considerable 31.8 seconds.

The leading M-Sport driver, Josh McErlean, in fifth place, holds a 35.6-second lead over Oliver Solberg in the Toyota. However, after repeated engine misfires and a puncture that cost him four minutes on Friday, Solberg is now fighting his way back up the field.

The Rally2 drivers Diego Dominguez, Guy Greensmith and Zaldivar Fau (all in Toyotas) are in seventh to ninth places.

Adrien Fourmaux wirbelt mächtig Staub auf

Foto: Red Bull

Jon Armstrong has worked his way up to tenth place in the second Ford Puma Rally1.

Sébastien Ogier, Thierry Neuville and Takamoto Katsuta are all back in action following their retirements on Friday. Saturday morning was rather painful for Neuville. The former world champion admitted that a hard landing had aggravated a pre-existing neck problem, which he had first sustained on the Power Stage of Rally Finland.