Sebastien Ogier took the win in FIA WRC Rally del Paraguay as Elfyn Evans and Thierry Neuville jump on Adrien Fourmaux to be P2 and P3.
Friday –
Adrien Fourmaux hit trouble late on ueno Rally del Paraguay’s opening day, allowing Kalle Rovanperä to inherit an overnight lead he admits he wasn’t expecting. Frenchman Fourmaux dominated Friday’s action, leading for most of the day with a composed drive that put him on early the road to what would be a maiden WRC victory. But 3.5 kilometres from the finish of the penultimate stage, a rock impact punctured one of his Hyundai i20 N Rally1’s tyres and handed the lead to a surprised Rovanperä.
Rovanperä inherited first place but made no attempt to hide his struggles on Paraguay’s red gravel roads. The two-time world champion ended 7.1sec clear of Fourmaux despite admitting his performance fell well short of expectations. Paraguay’s WRC debut took many by surprise, with savage compressions and constantly changing grip catching crews completely off-guard. The punishment was so severe that Rovanperä joked he could “hear his back cracking” on the landings.
Ott Tänak sat third, just 0.5sec behind Hyundai i20 N Rally1 team-mate Fourmaux. Behind him, Sébastien Ogier provided the day’s most remarkable storyline, fighting back from disaster to claim fourth overall. The eight-time champion lost over 30 seconds to a puncture on SS2 but won three stages in an inspired recovery drive that keeps his title hopes alive. Championship leader Elfyn Evans began the rally with a three-point lead over Rovanperä but ended 21.1sec back from his Finnish team-mate after suggesting he’d “forgotten how to drive in these conditions”.
Defending champion Thierry Neuville struggled in sixth, admitting he was “fighting hard” but unable to find pace or comfort after an overshoot and a spin. He headed M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 star Josh McErlean, while Sami Pajari dropped to eighth after stopping to change a wheel on SS7. Takamoto Katsuta was forced to retire his GR Yaris Rally1 after running wide and losing a rear wheel, while Grégoire Munster languished almost 50 minutes back from the lead after going off the road on SS1. Their misfortunes enabled WRC2 hopefuls Yohan Rossel and Nikolay Gryazin to complete the overall top 10.
Saturday –
Sébastien Ogier produced a masterful comeback to seize the ueno Rally del Paraguay lead after team-mate Kalle Rovanperä hit trouble on the penultimate stage of Saturday’s action. The eight-time world champion started the day fourth overall and 17.8sec behind overnight leader Rovanperä, but delivered a masterclass in tactical rallying to emerge with a 10.3sec advantage over Adrien Fourmaux heading into Sunday’s decisive four stages.
Ogier’s charge gathered momentum throughout Saturday as his tactical gamble of carrying only five tyres versus his rivals’ six began to pay dividends. The weight advantage helped him win four of the day’s seven stages, overtaking Fourmaux before inheriting the lead when Rovanperä struck trouble. Rovanperä had controlled the rally since Friday evening and extended his lead through Saturday’s opening half despite not feeling completely satisfied with his performance aboard his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.
But a front-right puncture midway through the long Artigas stage destroyed his weekend and dropped him to sixth overall, over two minutes back from the lead. Fourmaux held second overnight despite battling damper problems on the final two stages that hampered his ability to challenge Ogier’s pace. The Hyundai driver was able to maintain his podium position despite “lacking control of the chassis and the grip.” Ott Tänak delivered his own recovery drive after starting the day second overall before dropping to sixth after suffering a rear-left puncture on the morning’s longest stage.
The Estonian fought back through the afternoon to claim fourth position, ending just 2.5sec behind championship leader Elfyn Evans. Tänak’s Hyundai i20 N Rally1 colleague Thierry Neuville occupied fifth just 7.7sec behind with the Toyotas of Rovanperä and Sami Pajari in sixth and seventh. With M-Sport Ford drivers Josh McErlean and Grégoire Munster both retiring their Puma Rally1s with impact damage, WRC2 crews filled the remainder of the top 10. Robert Virves capitalised on Nikolay Gryazin’s troubles to lead the category in eighth overall ahead of Yohan Rossel and Oliver Solberg.
Sunday –
Sébastien Ogier claimed victory on ueno Rally del Paraguay’s inaugural running to strengthen his WRC title hopes and deliver Toyota its 102nd WRC win to equal Citroën’s all-time record on Sunday. The eight-time world champion’s triumph capped an extraordinary comeback week that began with him dropping almost 40 seconds to a tyre deflation on Friday but ended with both the rally victory and a surge to within nine points of championship leader Elfyn Evans.
Ogier’s 18th triumph for Toyota also makes him the Japanese manufacturer’s most successful driver ever – a record he previously shared with Kalle Rovanperä. However, the Frenchman’s mood was tempered by frustration with his Wolf Power Stage performance, where he encountered heavy rain while others enjoyed clearer weather. The Wolf Power Stage provided the weekend’s cruelest twist for Adrien Fourmaux, who saw a podium result slip through his fingers.
The Hyundai i20 N Rally1 driver had been on course for a career-best result after running second for most of the weekend, only to drop to fourth with a disappointing eighth-fastest time when it mattered most. Evans edged Thierry Neuville by a second to take the runner-up spot and extend his championship lead, which stood at just three points prior to this ninth round of the season. Neuville was the Power Stage hero, however, claiming the fastest time to vault onto the final podium sport and finish 1.3sec clear of disappointed Hyundai i20 N Rally1 team-mate Fourmaux.
Ott Tänak brought his Hyundai home just 2.1sec behind Fourmaux in fifth while two-time champion Kalle Rovanperä could only manage sixth after a puncture on Saturday destroyed his victory hopes. The Finn now sits level on 189 points with team-mate Ogier in the title fight. Sami Pajari placed seventh in another Toyota while Oliver Solberg claimed WRC2 victory after a dominant weekend that saw him climb from 10th to first in the category over the course of three days.
Yohan Rossel and Robert Virves filled out the remaining top 10 positions. Toyota’s 102nd victory equals Citroën’s record as the most successful manufacturer in WRC history. The Japanese marque has now won nine of the season’s ten completed rallies in a dominant 2025 campaign.
Result: https://www.wrc.com/en/events/wrc-rally-del-paraguay-2025/wrc-uneo-rally-del-paraguay-2025
[The story is as per press release]
