The action got underway on Thursday morning with shakedown and Takamoto set the pace from Thierry and Adrien, whilst Hayden and Elfyn were fourth and fifth. The action then for real started on Friday morning with the first of eight stages and what would we see on this first full day of stages?
First up then was SS1 Cambyreta 1 a 24.65-kilometre stage and there was drama from the very start as Takamoto and Aaron rolled out very early in the stage after the rear of their Yaris stepped out. Seb and Vincent also had drama after getting a puncture. The road was changing after the early runners and some rocks were being brought out. Oliver and Elliott were fastest from Adrien and Alex, whilst Hayden and John were third. Less than five seconds covered the top three. Elfyn and Scott were seventh after opening the road and only ten seconds from the lead. Perhaps opening the road wasn’t such a bad place to be.
Into SS2 Nueva Alborada 1 a shorter 15.66-kilometre test and once again Oliver was fastest from Josh and Hayden this time. It was a good stage for the M-Sport squad as Jon was also showing good pace with the fourth fastest time and matching Hayden’s pace. The Kiwi’s pace took him and his co-driver John, past Adrien and Alex and into second overall. The M-Sport Irish twins were also on the move with Josh and Jon both moving into fourth and fifth respectively. There was drama again for Seb and Vincent who stopped again to change a wheel on the front left corner following another puncture which was caused when the car struck a bank on the exit of a right-hand corner. We also lost Thierry from the action following the end of stage one with the damage to his Hyundai.
The stages kept coming with SS3 Yerbateras 1 next. This was a proper test of 34.08-kilometres, the longest stage of the weekend. It was a tricky stage for Jon who suffered a puncture on his Puma which then led to damage on the front right-hand side brakes and included the whole calliper falling of the car. The car spun just a few metres down the road and damaged both bumpers and the bonnet, but they did at least make it to the end of the stage then they completed some repairs which meant that they could finish the morning stages and return to service. Hayden won the stage from Elfyn and Josh and this gave us a new top three, with the Kiwi’s leading the way from Josh and Elfyn. We did lose Seb from the action as his front suspension gave way in the stage. Also, to suffer tyre problems were Adrien, Sami, Oliver, Josh and Jon. Oliver also had a spin in the stage and his engine stalled which meant he needed to have a push start from some fans to get going again.
The short SS4 Autodromo 1 stage of 2.5 kilometres followed before service and Adrien was fastest from Oliver and Sami, whilst Hayden continued to hold the lead from Josh and Elfyn. The only change in position in the top ten was that Adrien passed Jon for sixth place.
After the lunchtime service came SS5 Cambyreta 2 and Adrien was fastest from Elfyn and Sami. Hayden continued to hold the lead from Elfyn now who had passed Josh for second place. Adrien was also gaining positions and passed Diego for fifth overall. There were no punctures incredibly for the crews in this stage, which was amazing really.
It was all change following the end of SS6 Nueva Alborada 2. Adrien set the pace from Sami and Elfyn. Elfyn moved into the lead from Hayden after the Kiwi suffered a puncture on the front right of his Hyundai. Also moving up was Sami who passed Josh for third place.
The final long stage of the day, SS7 Yerbateras 2 saw some more drama, as Sami set the pace from Oliver and Hayden. Elfyn’s lead was short lived as he suffered a tyre delamination. Scott and him, decided to continue and not stop, which worked well as they only lost just over a minute meaning they finished the stage still holding a podium position and only 56 seconds from the new leader Sami, whilst Hayden was now second even though he also had a tyre failure nearer to the end of the stage.
The final stage then, SS8 Autodromo 2 and Adrien was fastest from Hayden and Oliver, whilst Sami continued to lead the rally from Hayden and Elfyn.
Let’s hear from the drivers and take a look at the top ten.
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Sami Pajari
“It’s been a crazy day with many stories to tell for us and for everybody else. Our day didn’t start great as we got a water leak on the first stage, but thankfully we could make a fix to get through the morning and get back to service. After that, the car was working to its full potential and we could enjoy it as much as possible, but today was still more about survival than we expected. It’s nice to be in the lead but I think on this rally it’s not meaning so much; with the weather forecast, the most demanding days might still be to come.”
Elfyn Evans
“It’s been a dramatic day for almost everybody, with very few who haven’t had their fair share of trouble already. We’ve been focused on trying to be clean and having a good rhythm, and everything’s been working fine in the car. It has been challenging for the tyres and we had to manage some issues through both long stages and unfortunately lost quite a bit of time. Others have fared even worse than us so the overall position isn’t bad, and the rain might bring a very different set of challenges for tomorrow.”
Oliver Solberg
“Today was definitely trickier than expected. I had a good feeling this morning and the first two stages were nice. Then we were a bit unfortunate; going into a junction I lost the engine and needed help from the fans to restart, and then we got a slow puncture and stopped to change it. It’s a pity so much time was lost but that’s rallying. After that we just tried to be clean, and nothing is over; there could be crazy weather over the weekend so anything can still happen.”
Sébastien Ogier
“Unfortunately, this rally quickly turned out to be very challenging for us. In the first stage we got a puncture on a landing from a jump, and we also had a bit of an electronic issue going into the next stage. I maybe lost concentration a bit, came a bit too fast over a crest and hit the bank on the outside; it was my mistake, and we damaged the front-left suspension. We tried to fix it and continue, but eventually we had to stop for the day.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“At the beginning of the first stage there was a very high-speed approach down into the forest and I probably just came too fast into this corner; it was my mistake. I lost the rear of the car and wasn’t able to recover it and we rolled. Initially we tried to continue but we stopped to prevent any further damage. I’m really sorry for the team and it’s a tough moment but we will try to regroup.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Hayden Paddon
“Today has almost been Safari-spec. It’s been difficult for everybody; managing the tyres has been the biggest thing today, and it’s been very tough. I think we’ve managed it as best as we could – obviously we had a couple of punctures, but luckily we didn’t have to stop on stage to change them and were able to manage them in the stage to avoid more damage. Tomorrow will be a different challenge – there may be rain, and whether it’s just one or 100mm, it’s going to be slippery. We will have to reset tomorrow and have a different mindset for tomorrow, as there is still a long way to go in this rally.”
11 Round, Rally del Paraguay
27-30 August 2026
Photographer: Dufour Fabien
Wordwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Adrien Fourmaux
“All in all, I am happy with my day, particularly with my pace and how I managed the tyres – there is still some work to do as we have delaminations; it is different to when you have a puncture from a rock, so it’s a shame. Otherwise, I was enjoying the stages – although I am happy I was not in a casino today, as I would have lost everything. If the rain comes tomorrow, I think it’s going to be a really difficult day.”
Thierry Neuville
“This was the worst possible start for a rally where everything was set up for a good weekend. For the first few kilometres we had a good feeling in the car, but then we came fast over a blind crest, on the landing we went over a stone and immediately got a puncture and lost the brake line. We decided to carry on, and picked up further damage to the suspension, and had to retire the car.”
Classification after Day One
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Saturday
The second day of action in Paraguay will see the crews tackle 135.74-kilometres over nine stages. The morning loop has four stages and then the same four are run in the afternoon before an extra stage finishes the day. There is rain predicted for the whole day as well, which will make things very interesting.
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