Finland’s Sami Pajari wins Rally Paraguay and makes history with third straight victory

Sami Pajari completed a three-rally winning streak in Paraguay and set a World Rally Championship record in the process. The Finnish Toyota driver became the first competitor to win his first three WRC events consecutively.

Pajari finished the 22 timed stages over three days in 3 hours, 13 minutes and 28.5 seconds. He had led from the opening day, after championship leader Elfyn Evans lost time because of a puncture.

The Paraguayan victory followed Pajari’s wins in Estonia and Finland. New Zealand’s Hayden Paddon finished second in a Hyundai i20 N, 25.1 seconds behind. France’s Adrien Formaux took third, finishing 40 seconds behind Pajari and ahead of Evans.

Evans ended the rally fourth, 45.1 seconds off the winning pace. His Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 faced tire problems and difficult stage conditions after rain during the rally and the previous day. Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta suffered a heavy rollover and retired.

Despite Pajari’s run of victories, Evans remains first in the overall standings with 216 points. Pajari has narrowed the gap to 196, while Sweden’s Oliver Solberg is third with 175. In WRC2, Paraguay’s Diego Domínguez won the event, but Estonia’s Robert Virves leads the standings with 100 points, followed by Finland’s Roope Korhonen on 79.