WRC Paraguay: Sami Pajari leads after tyre failures reshape order

Sami Pajari took the lead in Rally Paraguay after a challenging opening day marked by numerous punctures and crashes. The Finn and co-driver Marko Salminen, aiming for their third WRC victory, started the day fourth overall and 33.2 seconds behind the leader. They faced a water leak issue in the morning but finished as the only team without tyre problems from the gravel stages.

Pajari capitalized on Elfyn Evans and Hayden Paddon's tyre issues to gain an 11.9-second advantage over Paddon. Championship leader Evans secured third place, 56.3 seconds behind. Despite the difficulties, Pajari expressed satisfaction with the team's performance thus far. Hayden Paddon achieved a surprise rally lead at midday after his Rally1 gravel debut for Hyundai, capitalizing on team-mate Thierry Neuville's puncture, Sébastien Ogier's multiple punctures, and Takamoto Katsuta's roll.

However, he suffered a front-right tyre delamination on stage six, allowing Evans to take the lead by just 0.5 seconds. Evans' lead was short-lived when delaminations affected his right-rear tyre on the final lap, forcing him to finish on the rim and drop to third. Pajari completed the stage without issues, finishing fastest by 0.1 seconds from Toyota teammate Oliver Solberg.

Paddon managed to retain second place despite dropping 20.8 seconds to Pajari. Pajari led the day with a 12.4-second advantage, heading into the evening's short Autódromo Alfredo Scheid super special 11.9 seconds ahead of Paddon.