WRC
Pajari makes WRC history with Paraguay hat-trick
Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen made FIA World Rally Championship history on Sunday by winning ueno Rally del Paraguay and becoming the first crew whose first three WRC wins have come consecutively.
The Finnish pair added Paraguay to their breakthrough success in Estonia and home triumph in Finland, completing an extraordinary hat-trick with a 25.8sec victory over Hayden Paddon and John Kennard.
Pajari’s third straight win also tightened the drivers’ championship considerably. The 24-year-old now sits just 20 points behind leader Elfyn Evans with three rounds remaining, having trailed by 30 coming into Paraguay.
“Amazing,” Pajari said at the finish. “Big thanks to the team once again. It was not an easy rally, not easy for the drivers, but nevertheless not easy for the team.
“Building such a reliable car is the key for the success. It’s a really, really proud moment and I’m really, really happy.”
Pajari had taken control during a chaotic Friday when tyre problems and incidents reshuffled the order repeatedly. He entered Sunday with 24.1sec in hand over Paddon and, although his advantage briefly fell to 21.5sec on the opening Encarnación test, he refused to be drawn into unnecessary risks.
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The Toyota driver responded by stretching the margin on the following two stages and arrived at the final Wolf Power Stage with victory firmly under control.
Paddon’s second place completed a remarkable weekend on his first top-level WRC gravel start since 2018.
The New Zealander briefly led the rally on Friday and remained Pajari’s closest challenger thereafter, delivering another significant result in his return season with Hyundai.
“This one feels like a proper podium,” said Paddon. “A lot of people had written us off, but a lot of people believed in me and we believed in ourselves.
“This goes to show you never ever give up. Dream, dare to believe in your dream, and I can’t believe we’re back here in this full circle.”
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Behind the leading pair, Adrien Fourmaux completed one of the drives of the weekend to snatch third place from championship leader Evans.
Fourmaux had been 1min 51.3sec from the lead after Friday’s tyre troubles but launched a relentless recovery on Saturday, reducing a deficit of more than 55sec to Evans to just 3.3sec overnight.
The Frenchman moved ahead on Sunday’s opening stage and kept the pressure on to finish 5.1sec clear of the Welshman and 40.0sec behind Pajari.
“It’s been an incredible weekend,” Fourmaux said. “To be one minute 50 out of the lead on Friday night and come back to less than 50 seconds is just unbelievable.
“What a weekend. It’s a shame for the tyres, but at the same time it was a very, very good fight for us to come back.”
Evans settled for fourth but retains the championship lead on 216 points, with Pajari now second on 196. Oliver Solberg is third on 175 after finishing fifth overall and winning the Wolf Power Stage.
Solberg’s rally had been compromised as early as Friday when his engine stopped under braking while he was leading, requiring spectators to push-start his GR Yaris Rally1 before a puncture compounded the time loss.
Josh McErlean brought his M-Sport Ford home sixth after an eventful final day during which a broken gear lever was ingeniously repaired using a 10mm spanner.
The penultimate Artigas stage was red-flagged and not restarted following an accident involving Takamoto Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston. Both crew members were transported by helicopter to a local hospital for precautionary medical examinations.
There was also a hugely popular home success in WRC2.
Diego Domínguez and Rogelio Peñate completed a dream victory in front of their Paraguayan supporters, finishing seventh overall and 22.7sec clear of Gus Greensmith after leading the category since Friday.
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Domínguez had carried the hopes of the host nation throughout the weekend, having received personal good-luck wishes from Paraguayan President Santiago Peña before the rally began.
“This one is for all of them,” an emotional Domínguez said at the finish. “Especially for my dad, who helped me, pushed me to get this and continue my career in rallying. I need to cry and get some beer urgently!”
Alejandro Galanti added another home success by completing the WRC2 podium behind Greensmith, with Australian Taylor Gill fourth.
Pajari’s victory leaves the drivers’ championship finely poised as the WRC remains in South America and heads directly to Rally Chile Bio Bío from 10–13 September.
Evans leads Pajari by 20 points, with Solberg a further 21 behind.
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT’s bid for a record-equalling 10th manufacturers’ crown will also continue in Chile. The championship leader leaves Paraguay on 554 points, 173 ahead of Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team on 381.
