Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen recorded their names in the history of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) on Sunday – they won the “ueno Rally del Paraguay” and became the first crew to achieve their first three wins in a row.
The Finnish duo added a triumph in Paraguay to their victories in Estonia and Finland, completing an impressive streak. They beat the “Hyundai” crew Hayden Paddon and John Kennard by 25.8 seconds.
Pajari’s victory further intensified the fight for the winner’s title in the drivers’ standings. The 24-year-old Finn is now only 20 points behind the championship leader Elfyn Evans, with three stages remaining until the end of the season.
“Amazing,” said Pajari. “It was not an easy rally. It was not easy for the drivers, but it was not easy for the team either.
Creating such a reliable car is the key to success. This is a moment I am truly proud of, and I am very happy.”
Pajari took the lead after a dramatic Friday battle and started Sunday with a 24.1-second advantage. After the first stage of the day, it briefly decreased to 21.5 seconds, but the Finn responded with a good pace and controlled the situation in the remaining stages, confidently securing the victory.
Paddon’s second place capped an impressive weekend – it was the New Zealand racer’s first start in the top WRC category on gravel since 2018. Paddon led on Friday and later remained the closest pursuer of Pajari.
“This time I really feel this is a real podium,” said Paddon. “Many people had already written us off, but many believed in me, and we believed in ourselves.
It proves that you should never, ever give up.”
Adrien Fourmaux took third place after an impressive comeback. After problems on Friday, the Frenchman was 1 minute 51.3 seconds behind the leader, but on Saturday he showed a great pace and on the last rally morning was only 3.3 seconds behind Evans.
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Fourmaux overtook Evans already on the first Sunday stage and finished ahead of the championship leader in the fight for third place by 5.1 seconds.
“It was an incredible weekend,” he said. “To be 1 minute and 50 seconds behind the leader on Friday evening and finally reduce the gap to less than 50 seconds – just incredible.”
Evans finished fourth and retained the championship leader position. He has 216 points, Pajari 196, and Oliver Solberg, who finished fifth in Paraguay, has 175. Solberg ended the weekend with a win in the “Wolf Power Stage” special stage, which awards extra points.
Josh McErlean with “M-Sport Ford” finished sixth. Meanwhile, the penultimate stage was stopped and later not resumed after an accident involving Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston. Both crew members were taken to the hospital for medical examination for safety reasons but were soon released.
Paraguayan fans could also celebrate their compatriot’s victory – Diego Domínguez and Rogelio Peñate triumphed in the WRC2 category and took seventh place overall in the rally standings.
The WRC championship remains in South America – from September 10 to 13, the “Rally Chile Bio Bío” will take place, where the increasingly fierce battle for the world champion title will continue.
Rally standings
1. S. Pajari / M. Salminen (Finland), “Toyota GR Yaris Rally1” – 3 hr 13 min 28.5 sec.
2. H. Paddon / J. Kennard (New Zealand), “Hyundai i20 N Rally1” – +25.8 sec.
3. A. Fourmaux / A. Coria (France), “Hyundai i20 N Rally1” – +40.0 sec.
4. E. Evans / S. Martin (Great Britain), “Toyota GR Yaris Rally1” – +45.1 sec.
5. O. Solberg / E. Edmondson (Sweden), “Toyota GR Yaris Rally1” – +2 min 57.0 sec.
6. J. McErlean / E. Treacy (Ireland), “Ford Puma Rally1” – +4 min 19.0 sec.
WRC drivers’ championship standings after 11 of 14 stages
1. E. Evans – 216 points,
2. S. Pajari – 196 points,
3. O. Solberg – 175 points.
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