The World Rally Championship (WRC) was immediately hit by major drama on SS1 of Rally Paraguay. Takamoto Katsuta was forced to retire after a heavy accident in a fast corner. The Toyota driver ran wide and went off the road at speed, rolling his car before pulling over and stopping.
Major Blow for Katsuta
This failure is a significant setback for Katsuta, who is fighting for the title. He sits third in the WRC standings, 41 points behind his teammate, Elfyn Evans. Losing valuable points in Paraguay narrows his chances of closing the gap.
Katsuta wasn't the only top star in trouble. His teammate, Sebastien Ogier, was setting a blistering pace but suffered a puncture, finishing 24.4 seconds behind Oliver Solberg's benchmark time. Hyundai's Thierry Neuville also lost significant time due to a similar issue, having to drive more than half the stage with only three intact tyres, dropping almost three minutes off the lead. "We went a little wide after a jump and got a puncture," Neuville said. Television pictures suggested his Hyundai may have sustained other damage, but Neuville confirmed he would continue after changing the tyre.
Solberg Quickest
Amid the chaos, Oliver Solberg delivered a stellar performance. The Toyota driver was fastest on SS1, beating Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux by 3.1 seconds. This achievement is even more remarkable given that Solberg is recovering from a back injury sustained at Rally Finland. "I was really scared over the big bumps and jumps. Maybe I was even too scared," he sighed.
Hayden Paddon secured third place, followed by Sami Pajari, who reported a problem with his car. "We have some kind of problem. We need to see what we can do. Hopefully everything is OK," Pajari said. M-Sport Ford's Josh McErlean and Jon Armstrong are fifth and sixth respectively, while championship leader Evans is seventh, 10.1 seconds off the lead.
There was also drama in WRC2, as championship leader Robert Virves went off at the very start and retired, and Alejandro Cachon rolled his car heavily. Rally Paraguay has just begun, with seven more stages scheduled for Friday. The event concludes on Sunday.
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