Hayden Paddon emerged as the surprise leader of the WRC after a dramatic Friday morning loop. The New Zealander admitted the conditions were brutal, with several top contenders falling by the wayside due to incidents and mechanical issues.
The opening four special stages served up plenty of drama. Several drivers suffered punctures and other problems. Sebastien Ogier and Takamoto Katsuta from Toyota were forced to retire altogether, while Thierry Neuville's challenge for Hyundai also came to a premature end.
Paddon made it through the stages without any major issues and leads the rally by more than 20 seconds over M-Sport Ford's Josh McErlean and Elfyn Evans from Toyota. "The conditions are very tough out there, and very rough as well. It's really hard on the car because the window for finding the sweet spot is so small. You feel like you're underdriving, but as soon as you try to pick up the pace, you're in the ditches. So, yes, it's so difficult," Paddon sighed.
Paddon believes the task could be slightly easier on Friday afternoon's loop. "I think it'll be better because we know what to expect. The road shouldn't really get rutted here. There'll be a lot of rocks, but we also had a lot of rocks on the first pass," Paddon said. "The key is to keep it clean and keep doing what we're doing. You can't really push too much here at the moment. So it's just about trying to keep it in the middle."
Paddon's team-mate Adrien Fourmaux suffered a puncture on the morning loop and dropped one minute and 44 seconds off the lead. The Frenchman is sixth in the rally. "I'm happy with how I drove, the pace we have and how I managed the risk of punctures. But unfortunately, I could not avoid the tyre delamination which happened on SS3. It's a real shame. We know it's a weakness of the tyres, and this time it happened to me," Fourmaux concluded. "I won't give up. One minute 40 is a lot, but it's nothing on these kinds of rallies. We've seen so many things already this morning, and the rain is still to come. For now, I just stay calm."
Baca Juga
Sami Pajari mengaku beruntung bisa selamat dari drama pagi di Reli Paraguay, sementara rekan setimnya di Toyota mengalami masalah besar. Simak analisis lengkapnya.
Kejutan di Rally Paraguay: Paddon memimpin, Ogier dan Neuville tersingkir. Evans di posisi 3, Fourmaux tercepat di SS4. Drama pagi yang brutal!
Rally Paraguay SS3: Hayden Paddon memimpin setelah Toyota alami mimpi buruk. Solberg, Fourmaux, dan Evans terkena ban pecah. Siapa yang akan bertahan?
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