Sami Pajari has become the first driver in World Rally Championship history to take their first three career wins back-to-back, adding Rally del Paraguay victory to his wins in Estonia and Finland during the last six weeks.
A manic Friday which featured punctures and delaminations for the majority of drivers left the cars falling in Pajari’s favor, who moved into the lead when championship leader Elfyn Evans suffered a puncture on SS7.
Hayden Paddon had been the early leader of the rally but similarly fell back when he suffered a puncture on stage six, though he held second position all the way to the end on his first outing on gravel for Hyundai in the Rally1 era.
“It’s a really proud moment, I’m really happy,” said Pajari at the finish.
“I don’t know how we are on the points but we’re still trying to do the best we can, which is also not going too bad at the moment. So happy for that. It’s still a lot of points but I hope we have three rallies left, so anything is possible. We just need to keep pushing.”
Hayden Paddon scored his second podium finish of 2026 with second place on his first outing on gravel with the i20 N Rally1
Victory puts Pajari 20 points behind Evans in the title race; the latter was able to pick up one powerstage point and two points for being fourth-fastest across the four Sunday stages which ran – SS21 was cancelled due to Takamoto Katsuta crashing.
Adrien Fourmaux fell back on Friday with a double delamination on SS7 but fought back strongly, taking more stage wins than any other driver and taking third from Evans on the final day.
“It’s been an incredible weekend,” said Fourmaux. “I think we deserved the win but to be 1m50s out of the win on Friday night and coming back to less than 50s, is something unbelievable. What a weekend. It’s a shame for the tires but at the same time it was a very good fight for us to come back, I really pushed myself to the last bit.”
Evans lost 10 points to Pajari in the title race and admitted he didn’t have the right feeling to push and keep Fourmax behind on the last two days.
“The weekend started pretty well but didn’t settle into a better rhythm after that,” said Evans. [I am] Not happy really.”
Oliver Solberg rounded out the top five and won the powerstage, missing out on a perfect Sunday on a tiebreak. He and Sébastien Ogier completed all of Sunday’s stages on the exact same time but the reigning world champion took the maximum Sunday points by virtue of winning the day’s opening stage.
McErlean equalled his career-best result despite technical issues besetting his Ford Puma on the final day
“I feel we were really unlucky with small details on Friday that really cost us something to fight for,” he said, referencing his engine cutting out multiple times on the rally’s opening morning and then stopping to change a puncture.
“I think the speed was there, the strategy was there, we were just a bit unlucky with minor details. But anyway, it’s been a great weekend with so many passionate fans, it’s been incredible.”
Several Rally1 drivers spun in the final section of the powerstage due to the wet mud on the purpose-built arena section in a field.
Thierry Neuville, who was third-fastest on Sunday and fifth on the powerstage after returning from his Friday retirement with suspension damage, was unhappy with the Encarnacion stage being used as the final test.
“Just in the mud on a hairpin, the car was basically stuck in the mud and I nearly did a 360,” said Neuville. “A powerstage shouldn’t be run on a stage where the anti cuts are made out of plastic and the profile of the road is absolutely not the one from the recce or the first pass.”
Josh McErlean was the last Rally1 runner in the top 10, nursing his Ford Puma Rally1 to seventh place, 1m22s behind Solberg. His gear selector snapped on SS19, which he then repaired with a spanner and hose clamps. But there were still warning lights aplenty on his car, so he was off the pace all the way to the rally finish.
Diego Domínguez took his first WRC2 win on home soil and seventh place overall, fending off fellow Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 runner Gus Greensmith’s challenge by 22.7s.
Domínguez ensured the local fans would have a reason to party for the rest of Sunday with a WRC2 win
“This one is for all of them,” he said, pointing at the Paraguayan fans at the powerstage finish. “Especially to my dad, who helped me, who pushed me to get this and continue my career in rallying. I need to cry and get some beer urgently!”
Though he missed out on the win, Greensmith was satisfied to take the runner’s up position: “It’s not been a good year so happy to be back on the podium now and fighting at the front,” said Greensmith, taking his first WRC2 podium since Safari Rally Kenya in April.
Alejandro Galanti made it two Paraguayans on the podium in WRC2, narrowly beating Toksport Škoda driver Taylor Gill to third place – who also scored his first overall top 10 finish in the WRC.
Fau Zaldívar had started the day in the podium places but rolled on the Artigas test and lost several minutes as fans worked to push him out of a ditch.
Katsuta retired on the penultimate stage of the rally; he clipped the inside of a fast right-hander, tipped his car onto two wheels and bounced of a bank, sending his GR Yaris Rally1 flying into the air and crashing through a concrete utility pole. Both he and co-driver Aaron Johnston were taken to hospital for precautionary checks.
Jon Armstrong had been running seventh on the final day but hit a bank on SS20, destroying the left-rear suspension on his Ford Puma Rally1 which forced him to retire on the subsequent road section. He’d already lost several minutes on the opening day when he drove on a front-right puncture to the point of destroying his front brakes, due to damage from flailing rubber.
