Pajari makes history as Paraguay chaos reshapes the title race

Asunción, 30 August 2026 — Sami Pajari arrived in Paraguay with momentum. He left with history. The 24-year-old Finn’s third consecutive World Rally Championship victory – following wins in Estonia and Finland – made him the first driver in WRC history to win his first three rallies back-to-back, and cut Elfyn Evans’ championship lead to a precarious 20 points with three rounds remaining.

But this was never going to be a straightforward march to the top step. Rally del Paraguay, the 11th round of the 2026 season, delivered exactly the kind of attritional, dust-choked chaos that has defined this championship: four different leaders before the weekend was out, tyre nightmares on the abrasive Paraguayan gravel, and a final-day fight that swung on seconds rather than minutes.

A brutal opening leg

The 22-stage event, totalling almost 340 competitive kilometres, began under grey skies and quickly lived up to its reputation as one of the most physically demanding rallies on the calendar. The surface – a mix of clay and gravel – was notoriously abrasive, while the infamous red dust reduced visibility to near-zero on repeated passes.

By the end of Friday, four drivers had led the rally. Takamoto Katsuta won the opening stage, Thierry Neuville briefly headed the standings, Sébastien Ogier took the lead three stages later, and then Jon Armstrong was in front before the leg concluded. None of them would be on the podium.

Pajari, by contrast, kept his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 clean and fast. He ended Friday third, just 11.9 seconds behind overnight leader Hayden Paddon, with Evans a further 44.4 seconds back in third.

Paddon’s gravel return

The story of the opening day belonged to Hayden Paddon. The New Zealander, making his first top-level WRC gravel start since 2018 after years away from the full-time programme, looked immediately at home in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1. He won SS3 Yerbateras by a commanding 17.2 seconds over Evans and briefly led the rally from midday service through to SS5 Cambyreta.

For a driver who had been out of the gravel rhythm at this level for eight years, the pace was startling. Paddon’s ability to read the changing conditions and manage his tyres on the abrasive surface put him in the mix with the championship’s full-time contenders from the first kilometre.

Saturday: Pajari pulls away, Fourmaux charges

Day two began with Pajari in the lead, Paddon close behind, and Evans under pressure. The Finn extended his advantage steadily, winning stages and avoiding the pitfalls that claimed so many of his rivals. By the end of Saturday, he held a 24.1-second lead over Paddon heading into the final day.

Behind them, the real fight was for third place. Adrien Fourmaux, who had lost significant time on Friday with a puncture on SS3, launched a fierce comeback. The Frenchman won five of Saturday’s nine stages, slashing a 55-second deficit to Evans down to just 3.3 seconds. Evans, meanwhile, admitted he had been too conservative, unwilling to risk everything on a surface that punished even small mistakes.

Further back, Oliver Solberg held fifth in his Toyota, while Josh McErlean’s promising run in the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 ended in heartbreak. The Irishman clipped a bank on a late stage, ripping the rear off his car and forcing retirement from seventh place with just three stages remaining.

Sunday: tyre drama and a historic hat-trick

The final day’s six stages offered no respite. The dust was thicker, the ruts deeper, and the tyre wear more severe than anywhere else on the WRC calendar. It was here that Evans’s rally effectively unraveled. On the Yerbateras stage – the same test where Paddon had shone two days earlier – Evans suffered a rear-right tyre delamination on both passes. The second incident alone cost him 65 seconds and, as it turned out, the rally victory.

Fourmaux, by contrast, kept his Hyundai on the road and in the points. He overtook Evans on the final day to secure third place, completing a remarkable recovery from Friday’s troubles. Paddon, managing his pace and tyres with the precision of a veteran, held second overall, 25.8 seconds behind Pajari.

When the final time control closed, Pajari and co-driver Marko Salminen had done enough. Their margin of victory was 25.8 seconds – comfortable by Paraguay standards, but hard-earned on a weekend where four other drivers had led at some point.

The result that changes everything

The final classification read:

1. Sami Pajari / Marko Salminen – Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 – 3h13m28.5s
2. Hayden Paddon / John Kennard – Hyundai i20 N Rally1 – +25.8s
3. Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria – Hyundai i20 N Rally1 – +40.0s
4. Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin – Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 – +45.1s
5. Oliver Solberg / Elliott Edmondson – Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 – +2m57.0s
6. Josh McErlean / Eoin Treacy – Ford Puma Rally1 – +4m19.0s (retired late)

In WRC2, Diego Domínguez took victory in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, ahead of Gus Greensmith and Alejandro Galanti. Taylor Gill’s fourth place in class and tenth overall marked a career-best result for the Australian in the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.

The Zaldivar family wrote their own subplot: Miguel Zaldivar finished seventh overall, Fabrizio Zaldivar ninth after a late crash, and father Miguel Ángel Zaldivar tenth, also claiming the WRC Masters Cup for drivers over 50.

Championship implications

Paraguay did not just produce a winner; it reshaped the title fight.

Evans arrived with a 30-point lead over Pajari. He leaves with just 20 points in hand and the psychological advantage firmly shifted. Pajari has now won three in a row, each on a different surface, and has proven he can manage chaos as well as speed. Evans, meanwhile, has the experience but now carries the pressure of being the hunted.

In the manufacturers’ standings, Toyota’s lead over Hyundai grew to 173 points (554 to 381), underlining the depth of their driver line-up and the consistency of their Rally1 package.

For Paddon, Paraguay was more than a podium: it was a statement. Second place on his first gravel WRC start in eight years, briefly leading the rally, and scoring heavily for Hyundai sends a clear message about what he can still deliver when given the right car and opportunity.

What’s next

Three rounds remain in the 2026 WRC season. Pajari has the momentum, Evans has the lead, and the surfaces ahead will test both in different ways. After a weekend where four drivers led and only one finished on top, one thing is certain: this title fight is far from over.

Shot by Sam Tickell. www.racerviews.com