Sami Pajari and co-driver Marko Salminen have won Rally del Paraguay, their third World Rally Championship victory in as many rounds. Toyota Gazoo Racing says no driver has previously taken their first three WRC wins in consecutive events. Elfyn Evans finished fourth to keep the drivers’ championship lead with three rounds left.

Sami Pajari has won Rally del Paraguay, the eleventh round of the 2026 World Rally Championship, completing a run of three straight victories with Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team. According to the team, the Finn and co-driver Marko Salminen are the first crew to record their first three WRC wins in consecutive rounds.

A win built on survival rather than pace

Where Pajari’s earlier wins in Estonia and Finland came on fast roads that suited his outright speed, Paraguay demanded something else. The WRC’s second visit to the country served up bumps, compressions and sharp rocks hidden in a clay-like surface, with high temperatures putting extra load on tyres, cars and crews. Heavy rain threatened throughout, and the GR Yaris Rally1 cars were fitted mid-rally with snorkel systems normally reserved for Safari Rally Kenya.

Pajari’s own weekend started badly. A water leak on the opening stage on Friday dropped him as low as seventh overall, and he managed the problem until it could be repaired properly at mid-day service. As rivals hit larger delays, he ended Friday in the lead, stretched the gap to 24.1 seconds through Saturday and took the win by 25.8s from Hayden Paddon’s Hyundai i20 N Rally1. Adrien Fourmaux completed the podium, 40.0s back.

“It was not an easy rally for the drivers or the team, so building such a reliable car is key to this success,” Pajari said. “This was a very different rally to Estonia and Finland; it was not about being flat-out all the time. We had to manage many different things and I tried to be clever with my driving.”

Evans holds the championship lead

Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin finished fourth, 45.1s off the win and just 5.1s away from the podium. Evans had also led on Friday before losing around a minute to tyre damage, and admitted the crew were left short of rhythm afterwards. Fourth place in the Power Stage and fifth on Super Sunday added useful points: he now leads Pajari by 20 with three rounds remaining.

Oliver Solberg was the rally’s first leader before a stall and a tyre change in stage three cost four minutes. He and Elliott Edmondson recovered to fifth, won the Power Stage and shared the quickest Super Sunday time with Sébastien Ogier. Ogier and Vincent Landais, restarting after Friday suspension damage, were second on the Power Stage and took the full five Super Sunday points by winning the day’s opening stage.

Takamoto Katsuta’s rally ended with a heavy accident on the penultimate stage. He and co-driver Aaron Johnston were taken to hospital for precautionary checks and released the same afternoon. Katsuta said he lost the rear of the car, clipped a bank on the inside and rolled, and credited the car’s construction and the FIA regulations for the outcome.

A clean sweep in WRC2

WRC2 delivered a first 1-2-3 for the GR Yaris Rally2. Paraguayan driver Diego Domínguez took his maiden win on home roads with Rogelio Peñate and MSi Racing Team, ahead of Gus Greensmith and Jonas Andersson in the RaceSeven-run car, with Alejandro Galanti and Marcelo Toyotoshi third for Toyota Gazoo Racing Paraguay. TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Yuki Yamamoto restarted after Friday technical trouble to gather mileage on his first South American rally.

What it means

Toyota now leads the manufacturers’ championship by 173 points with 180 still available — enough to clinch the title before the season is out, but not yet mathematically settled. In the drivers’ standings the top three are all Toyota crews, with Evans on 216 points, Pajari on 196 and Solberg on 175, which leaves the team managing an internal fight rather than an external one over the closing rounds.

“Our competition was strong here but we are another step closer to the manufacturers’ title and we’re looking forward to Chile,” deputy team principal Juha Kankkunen said.

Facts: Rally del Paraguay 2026 (round 11)

  • Winner: Sami Pajari / Marko Salminen, Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 — 3h13m28.5s
  • Second: Hayden Paddon / John Kennard, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 — +25.8s
  • Third: Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 — +40.0s
  • Fourth: Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin, Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 — +45.1s
  • Fifth: Oliver Solberg / Elliott Edmondson, Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 — +2m57.0s
  • WRC2 winner: Diego Domínguez / Rogelio Peñate, Toyota GR Yaris Rally2
  • Drivers’ standings: Evans 216, Pajari 196, Solberg 175
  • Manufacturers’ standings: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 554, Hyundai 381

The cars will be rebuilt in Paraguay before being transported across the Andes for Rally Chile on 10–13 September, where the fast, mixed-surface gravel stages of the Bío Bío region form round 12.

Source: newsroom.toyota.eu