Sami Pajari holds the lead going into the final day of the WRC Rally del Paraguay, avoiding problems that struck his rivals, amid a surprise early leader.
The Finn was able to keep his Toyota free of tyre issues that caused a number of issues to his rivals across the running on Friday to lead from Hayden Paddon, with title-leader Elfyn Evans and Adrien Fourmaux running in third and fourth places respectively.
Pajari started the afternoon loop on Friday in fourth place, with the lead held by Paddon. The Kiwi was making his first top-level gravel rally appearance in almost a decade, and stunned by ending the first midday service over 20 seconds clear, the first time he had topped a WRC rally since Portugal, 2018.
But Pajari ended the day 11.9s ahead of Paddon, who suffered with a front-right delamination, with championship leader Evans a further 44.4s back in third. Paddon then suffered a front-right delamination, handing a slender 0.5s lead to title leader Elfyn Evans, but on the 33.88km Yerbatera stage, the Welshman also suffered from a similar affliction, and an increasingly shredded right-rear tyre left him ending the stage with the rim of the wheel left.
This left Pajari, who, by contrast, completed the stage without fuss, ended the day 11.9s in the lead. Afterwards, Pajari said: “It was very clean for me. I think it is lottery if you take the puncture or not.”
Paddon, incredulously, suffered a second tyre issue, also on Yabatera, leaving him nearly 21 seconds behind Pajari in the lead. But regardless, it was still a remarkable showing. “Everyone’s had problems, so if we can drive out of two stages on punctures and still be within touching distance, we’ve been unlucky but lucky at the same time,” he said, believing that Saturday may be a day to show he is still able to challenge.
Adrien Fourmaux may have had the strongest underlying pace, having won half of the eight stages on Friday. But he too suffered from tyre woe, needing to change both deflating rears, one of which cost him a minute-and-a-half. This left him down in fourth. “You know me, I will not give up. I will push to the end and see where we can be,” he said.
Josh McErlean rounded out the top five for M-Sport Ford. He had been second but he was also halted by a tyre problem on Yabatera. Takamoto Katsuta and Thierry Neuville were both out shortly soon after the next stage began, and were joined by reigning champion Sebastien Ogier, owing to a suspension problem that he tried to drive through. Solberg dropped down the order to eighth after stalling his engine, which required a spectator to help him push-start. He was also halted by yet another puncture.
Saturday – Pajari ignores wing damage to sail ahead. Pajari doubled his lead over nine stages on Saturday, aided by the weather.
Read Also
Adrien Fourmaux tampil memukau di Reli Paraguay dengan memangkas jarak ke posisi ketiga menjadi 3,3 detik. Targetnya: podium di hari terakhir.
Elfyn Evans menghadapi dilema strategi di hari terakhir Reli Jepang: mengejar kemenangan atau mengamankan poin penting untuk gelar WRC. Setiap poin sangat berarti.
Juha Kankkunen lega cuaca kering di Rally Paraguay membantu Toyota, namun ia menegaskan gelar pabrikan belum pasti karena Evans terancam Fourmaux.
Continue with Google
Discussion (0)
Join the Discussion!
Sign in easily to start commenting, replying, and interacting with other readers.
Latest Comments
No comments yet. Be the first!