Sami Pajari consolidated his advantage in Rally Paraguay, clocking a 22.8‑second lead after a storm battered the service zone but left the gravel stages dry.
Service‑Park Storm Severs
High‑pressure weather forced teams to gear cars for slippery conditions; the resulting gale struck the service yard, toppling tents and shifting sturdy temporary structures.
Despite the forecast, the rain missed the gravel course, surprising crews who had tuned for wet grip.
Driver Standings Tighten
Finishing Friday with an 11.9‑second margin over Hyundai’s Hayden Paddon, Pajari exploited the dry stages, shedding time on three of the four morning legs to return with a healthy cushion.
On stage 11, a brush with a ditch damaged the rear wing of Pajari’s Toyota GR Yaris. “It looked spectacular from outside, but the impact was minor for myself,” he said to Motorsport.com, noting the wing’s aesthetic role albeit crucial for aerodynamics.
Challenges for the Hyundai Line‑Up
Paddon, running an unfamiliar wet‑setup, found it hard to match the pace achieved on Friday’s dry, admitting lukewarm minutes on the road and unexpected wind, as captured on his phone’s webcam.
Evans, the championship leader, expressed relief that the storm did not hit the stages, and still captured win on stage nine before pulling back into third position, 54.1 seconds behind the leader.
Fourmaux secured two victories in the morning cycle, climbing into close contention, now 31.8 seconds shy of Evans.
McErlean, using a wet‑ready Puma, struggled with the dry gravel but nevertheless kept fifth place, narrowing the spread to Oliver Solberg to 35.6 seconds.
Service‑Area Turmoil
M‑Sport, the rally‑one outfit, endured the heaviest blow: tents dismantled and relocated to a rented shelter. “We dropped everything and settled in a new tent—typical rally resilience,” M‑Sport principal Rich Millener observed, acknowledging the absence of spectators during the hazardous interval.
Home‑hero Diego Domínguez maintained the WRC2 lead, slipping to seventh overall after losing his glasses near the end of stage 11.
With weather neutralised on the stages, drivers can refocus on tactics, while teams prepare to re‑establish optimal setups and patch the damaged service infrastructure for the next day.
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