Juha Kankkunen, one of rallying's greatest icons, can finally breathe a sigh of relief. But the Toyota figurehead is quick to stress that the manufacturers' title fight is far from over. Toyota sits in an excellent position, with a golden opportunity to seal the championship early this season. The requirement? Outscore arch-rivals Hyundai by six points at the end of Rally Paraguay.
Weather had been the looming threat. Heavy rain was forecast for Saturday, which would have made the task incredibly tough. But the skies stayed dry, and the stages were relatively trouble-free—a stark contrast to Friday's chaos. Kankkunen was visibly relieved, not least because incidents were far fewer than the opening day.
“Today was a much calmer day than yesterday, which I think was welcome. Everybody had gone out with wet weather setups expecting the rain, but it remained pretty dry on the stages,” Kankkunen summed up. “Still, it was not easy out there and you needed to take care with the tyres but all our drivers did a good job.”
Kankkunen expects a thrilling Sunday. Sami Pajari has a fine shot at a third consecutive win, while Elfyn Evans, currently third, faces a defensive battle after Adrien Fourmaux launched a fierce attack, closing to within 3.3 seconds.
“Sami has been able to increase the lead and Elfyn is doing what he needs to do, even if Adrien is pushing very hard behind,” Kankkunen said. “Let's see if the rain now comes for tomorrow, because we know that can make things very challenging, so nothing is decided yet.”
Sunday's final leg features five special stages, covering around 66 competitive kilometres. All eyes will be on whether Toyota can clinch the crown or Hyundai forces the fight to the season finale.
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