Sami Pajari claims his third consecutive victory following his maiden win, setting a new WRC record—Hyundai places two cars on the podium
At the end of an extremely grueling gravel battle, Pajari prevailed with a 25.8-second lead over Hayden Paddon (Hyundai; 2nd). On the final day, Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai; 3rd) overtook World Championship leader Elfyn Evans (Toyota; 4th) and secured the final podium spot. With this victory, Pajari has cut his deficit to Evans in the World Championship to just 20 points.
“Unbelievable. A huge thank you once again to the team. It wasn’t an easy rally, neither for the drivers nor for the crew. Building such a reliable car is the key to success. This is a truly proud moment, and I’m extremely happy,” Pajari enthused after his historic hat trick.
Friday’s tire debacle knocks out top stars
Signs had already emerged on Friday that victory in this grueling South American debut would come down to sheer durability. The coarse clay soil pushed the tires to their limits in high temperatures, leading to a series of tire failures and tread delaminations.
Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota; DNF) was an early casualty after rolling over on the first stage, as was Thierry Neuville (Hyundai; DNF), who had to retire due to a broken suspension following a tire failure. Sébastien Ogier (DNF) also retired his Toyota early after two tire failures and suspension damage.
Oliver Solberg (Toyota; 5th) lost more than four minutes due to an engine problem and a spin into the ditch. Surprise leader Paddon briefly lost the lead to Evans in the afternoon due to a flat tire, before the Welshman, too, had to limp to the finish on a bare rim. Pajari was largely spared from tire failures and entered Saturday in the lead.
Fourmaux still storms onto the podium
On the second day, the weather added to the drama: A storm ravaged the service park in Encarnacion on Saturday morning and severely damaged M-Sport’s tent accommodations.
On the special stages, however, the predicted rain failed to materialize, which posed significant setup problems for many teams whose cars were tuned for wet conditions. Despite a damaged rear wing after veering off into a ditch, Pajari weathered the attacks from his rivals, while Fourmaux launched his spectacular comeback against Evans with five stage wins.
On the final day, Fourmaux completed his comeback and pushed Evans down to fourth place. Behind them, Solberg fought his way up to fifth place despite his problems on Friday.
We call them co-drivers for a reason WRC uenoRallyDelParaguay pic.twitter.com/hzf8Ev8gi9
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) August 30, 2026
Josh McErlean (M-Sport-Ford) finished sixth in his Ford Puma—despite a gearshift lever that had been provisionally repaired with a wrench. His teammate Jon Armstrong (M-Sport-Ford; DNF) had to give up his seventh-place position on the 20th special stage due to suspension damage.
Local hero Diego Dominguez (Toyota; 7th) benefited from this, celebrating victory in the WRC2 category in seventh place in front of his home crowd. Rounding out the top 10 were Gus Greensmith (Toyota; 8th), Alejandro Galanti (Toyota; 9th), and Taylor Giull (Skoda; 10th), who took second through fourth place in the WRC2.
Katsuta Involved in Serious Crash on Sunday
Takamoto Katsuta once again provided Sunday’s moment of shock: The Japanese driver rolled his car for the second time this weekend on the 21st special stage, forcing the stage to be canceled.
According to initial reports, Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston were uninjured but were taken to the hospital for precautionary examinations. Team principal Juha Kankkunen said: “They’re both okay. But the car is completely wrecked. It looked very strange how the rear end just broke loose in a fast left-right combination.”
The World Rally Championship (WRC) South America leg will conclude in Chile from September 10–13.
