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Sami Pajari wins Rally of Paraguay Stage 1 Image: Gustavo Machado, ABC Color
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Sports

Sami Pajari wins Rally of Paraguay Stage 1

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Finnish driver Sami Pajari won Stage 1 of the Rally of Paraguay, holding off Hayden Paddon by 11.9 seconds.
  • Pajari took the lead after Elfyn Evans experienced a tire puncture during the seventh special stage.
  • The rally is the 11th round of the 2026 World Rally Championship, with Elfyn Evans currently leading the drivers' standings and Toyota Gazoo Racing potentially securing the manufacturers' title.

Finnish driver Sami Pajari has won Stage 1 of the Rally of Paraguay, the 11th round of the 2026 World Rally Championship. Pajari finished the day 11.9 seconds ahead of New Zealand's Hayden Paddon.

The victory came after Pajari capitalized on a tire puncture experienced by the current World Championship leader, Elfyn Evans. Pajari achieved the best time in the seventh special stage, propelling him into the lead of the rally.

Evans, driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, currently leads the drivers' standings in the World Rally Championship. His team, Toyota Gazoo Racing, is in a strong position to potentially clinch the manufacturers' title at this event.

Several other notable drivers are competing, including Adrien Fourmaux, Joshua McErlean, and Diego Domínguez Bejarano. However, the rally has already seen some retirements. Sébastien Ogier withdrew after the third special stage, and Thierry Neuville also abandoned due to mechanical issues with his Hyundai i20 N Rally1, stating that a repair did not hold.

The rally features 8 special stages across four sections, with two passes each. The final special stage of Stage 1, a short 2.5-kilometer run at the Capitán Miranda Autodrome, was set to determine the stage winner.

The repair did not resist and the day ended.

— Thierry NeuvilleExplaining his withdrawal from the rally due to mechanical failure.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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