Thrilling Start to Rally Paraguay: Punctures Reshape Day 1 Leaderboard
High Stakes, High Drama: Paraguay's First WRC Day Delivers Unpredictable Racing
Rovanperä Takes Lead After Fourmaux's Tire Troubles
World Rally Championship contender Kalle Rovanperä now holds a precarious lead in the inaugural Rally Paraguay. His ascension to the top spot came after an unfortunate series of punctures plagued Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux, who had initially dominated the new gravel stages. The demanding nature of Paraguay's terrain, marked by its varied grip conditions, loose stones, and formidable jumps, played a pivotal role in reshaping the leaderboard.
Morning Stages: A Battle for Dominance
Rovanperä initiated the day by clinching the first stage, but soon found himself struggling to adapt to the rapidly changing grip levels. This allowed a resurgent Fourmaux to seize the lead on the third stage, showcasing impressive speed and control despite the challenging conditions.
Afternoon Setbacks: Fourmaux's Unlucky Break and Rovanperä's Ascent
As the afternoon wore on, and with the gravel roads becoming increasingly polished and slick, Fourmaux managed to extend his lead over Rovanperä to a promising 5.5 seconds. However, fate intervened when Fourmaux encountered two punctures. The second tire failure, occurring during the critical seventh stage, proved most detrimental, costing the Hyundai driver 18.9 seconds and ceding the rally lead to Rovanperä. Despite this setback, Fourmaux demonstrated resilience by trimming 0.5 seconds from Rovanperä's lead in the final super special stage at Autodromo, narrowing the gap to a mere 7.1 seconds.
Driver Reactions: Mixed Feelings and Forward Focus
Post-race, Rovanperä admitted a degree of dissatisfaction with his performance, stating that while his position was favorable, his speed had not been consistently optimal throughout the day. He acknowledged the need for improvement, especially with differing stage characteristics anticipated for the following day. Fourmaux, understandably disappointed to lose his lead, expressed satisfaction with maintaining second place, just half a second ahead of his Hyundai teammate, Ott Tänak, who had a strong recovery after a challenging start.
Seasoned Competitors' Recovery: Ogier's Charge and Evans' Frustration
Ott Tänak was not alone in his resurgence. Sébastien Ogier, a seasoned title rival, dramatically recovered from an early puncture in the second stage that dropped him to eighth. He unleashed blistering pace in his Toyota GR Yaris, ending Friday in fourth, 17.8 seconds behind the leader. Ogier reflected positively on his comeback, despite the morning's misfortune. Conversely, championship leader Elfyn Evans concluded the day in fifth, 21.1 seconds off the pace, visibly frustrated by his inability to find rhythm in the tricky, low-grip conditions, lamenting that he felt he had "forgotten how to drive."
Further Incidents: Neuville's Slide and Katsuta's Crash
Thierry Neuville, who briefly held fourth position, experienced a costly error at the conclusion of stage seven, dropping him to sixth. His afternoon progress was marred by a significant slide at a sharp right hairpin, partly attributed to a delaminating tire. Meanwhile, Toyota's Takamoto Katsuta, after recovering from an early puncture, crashed out of ninth place by clipping a bank on the same stage. Sami Pajari, another Toyota driver, faced a two-minute penalty due to a tire change, falling from third to eighth.
M-Sport Ford's Resilience and Munster's Tough Day
Josh McErlean emerged as M-Sport-Ford's leading driver, finishing seventh, capitalizing on the misfortunes of Katsuta and Pajari. Despite an earlier overshoot and puncture, McErlean enjoyed a relatively clean afternoon. Grégoire Munster, however, endured a particularly difficult day. An early impact in the opening stage caused significant damage to his Ford Puma, including a broken steering arm and brake line, leading to substantial time losses and further vehicle damage from harsh jumps later in the day.
WRC2 Class Update: Rossel Leads, Solberg and Greensmith Face Challenges
In the WRC2 category, Yohan Rossel established a 9.1-second lead over Nikolay Gryazin, with both drivers rounding out the overall top 10. Local Paraguayan favorite Diego Dominguez briefly led the class before dropping to third. Championship leader Oliver Solberg recovered to sixth in class despite losing over a minute to a puncture in stage three, while fellow title contender Gus Greensmith retired after his rear suspension collapsed in stage four. The rally promises continued excitement with seven more gravel stages awaiting the crews on Saturday.