Pajari extends WRC Rally Paraguay lead as Fourmaux closes on podium

Sami Pajari moved within five stages of a third consecutive FIA World Rally Championship victory as Adrien Fourmaux’s Saturday charge set up a close fight for the final podium place at Rally Paraguay.

Pajari’s factory Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 (above) began the second leg 11.9s ahead of WRC part-timer Hayden Paddon’s Hyundai i20 N Rally1. The 24-year-old Finn more than doubled that advantage across the day’s nine special stages despite a damaged rear wing, an overshoot and constantly changing grip conditions.

Behind the lead pair, the biggest move came from Fourmaux in another factory Hyundai. The Frenchman earned five stage wins during a blistering Saturday charge to close from more than 55s behind third-placed Elfyn Evans’ GR Yaris at the start of the day to just 3.3s behind the WRC points leader at the overnight halt.

Hayden Paddon lost time to rally leader Sami Pajari, but the Hyundai part-timer looks solid for a second-place finish. Red Bull Content Pool

With heavy rain forecast, crews began Saturday expecting dramatically different conditions to Friday and several opted for softer, wet-biased setups. Instead, the opening stages were largely dry, slippery and increasingly abrasive.

Pajari steadily stretched his margin over Paddon through the morning before running wide into a ditch on the first pass of the 12.05-mile Hohenau stage and ripping the upper plane from the rear wing of his Yaris.

He reached service with 22.8s still in hand and, with the damaged aero replaced, continued to control the rally through the afternoon.

An overshoot on the 13.14-mile Bella Vista 2 test provided another brief scare, but Pajari still outpaced Paddon there and remained composed as tire management became increasingly important.

“For me this is a different challenge than Estonia and Finland. It is more about surviving,” said the Finn, who’s chasing a hat-trick of victories and a piece of history, since no driver’s first three WRC wins have ever come consecutively.

The day-ending Encarnacion Costanera super special brought another reminder that nothing can be taken for granted. Its mixed-surface roads on an otherwise all-gravel event became increasingly greasy as more cars passed, but Pajari safely negotiated the 1.93-mile test to retain a healthy advantage.

“Many things can go wrong still tomorrow,” he said. “It’s good for the moment. Happy to see that we have been competitive and the car is very reliable once again, but still it’s too early to say anything more.”

Paddon remains firmly in second on his first top-level WRC gravel outing since 2018. The New Zealander struggled to recreate the rhythm that carried him into a brief lead on Friday, but focused increasingly on preserving tires and avoiding the trouble that had defined the opening leg. He ends Saturday 32.2s clear of Evans.

The battle immediately behind Paddon, however, could hardly be tighter. Fourmaux began the day 55.0s behind Evans, but immediately signaled his intent. He won 7.19-mile Bella Vista Sur 1 and Hohenau 1 during the morning, before adding three consecutive stage victories on the afternoon’s repeated loop.

By the end of Hohenau 2, he’d reduced Evans’ advantage to 16.0s, and another gain on Trinidad left just 13.1s between them.

Then came that short, sharp Encarnacion Costanera closer. Fourmaux negotiated the slippery super special a barely believable 9.8s faster than Evans, slashing the gap to only 3.3s with Sunday’s five stages remaining.

“I’m happy with the pace,” Fourmaux had said earlier. “I just need to find the balance for the tire wear.”

Adrien Fourmaux’s Saturday charge has put the Hyundai driver withing sniffing distance of a Paraguay podium. Five Sunday stages remain for him to seal the deal. Red Bull Content Pool

Evans has remained focused on avoiding unnecessary risks on a rally which has already punished many of the leading crews.

“Adrien, to be fair, has been in a different rally to everyone else,” he acknowledged. “He’s risking everything, but let’s see tomorrow.”

Another close fight developed behind them. Oliver Solberg climbed to fifth in his GR Yaris after Josh McErlean slid wide in his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 and took down stage-side advertising on the final test, leaving the pair separated by only 6.3s overnight.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Diego Dominguez remains on course for a dream home victory, but fellow Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 driver Gus Greensmith ensured the class battle is far from over with a strong Saturday charge.

Dominguez began the day 39.4s clear of the Briton and maintained his advantage through a tricky morning in which changing grip, loose rocks and the lingering threat of rain kept crews guessing.

His day was made slightly more complicated by an unusual problem when he accidentally left his glasses on the roof of his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 after the morning’s second stage.

Dominguez completed the following stages without them before his mother and wife sourced a replacement pair from a local optician during midday service.

“I’d rather drive with my glasses on!” he admitted after Trinidad. “For sure I am losing confidence without my glasses.”

Even an optical emergency couldn’t stop local hero Diego Dominguez from moving closer to a WRC2 win in Paraguay. Red Bull Content Pool

Sunday’s deciding leg features five stages and 42.35 competitive miles, with Sami Pajari now one clean morning away from completing an extraordinary run of three consecutive WRC victories, and Dominguez the same distance away from taking on legend status in his home country.

WRC Rally Paraguay, positions after Saturday/Leg Two, SS17
1 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h48m29.7s
2 Hayden Paddon/John Kennard (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +24.1s
3 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +56.3s
4 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +59.6s
5 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +3m25.7s
6 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +3m32.0s
7 Diego Dominguez/Rogelio Penate (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2 leader) +6m20.4s
8 Jon Armstrong/Shane Byrne (Ford Puma Rally1) +6m40.0s
9 Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2) +6m44.7s
10 Fau Zaldivar/Marcelo der Ohannesian (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +7m33.6s

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