The 2026 World Championship is turning into a series of emotions and great results for Sami Pajari, who after his first WRC victory in Estonia and success at home in Finland has secured his third consecutive win in South America, at the Rally of Paraguay. The only Toyota driver at home to have reached the podium, in a particularly difficult round for the Japanese manufacturer with punctures, damage, and accidents, the first position allows the young Finnish driver not only to celebrate but also to challenge the world leader Elfyn Evans, now closer in the overall standings.
Read more Rally of Paraguay 2026, Day 2: Pajari drops from the lead and extends
Chronicle of the Super Sunday
Ogier opened the last day of the Paraguayan rally with the best time in the special stage, but on the edge of the top 5 of SS18 was his compatriot Adrien Fourmaux, who thanks to this result, combined with Evans’ eighth place, managed to overtake the Welshman in the overall standings, moving up to 3rd place. The Frenchman, in the next two rounds, came close to setting the best performance, which was instead achieved by Oliver Solberg. Despite this, the Hyundai driver still gained ground on Paddon, while extending his lead over Evans. Pajari, on the other hand, always kept his leadership under control, arriving at the top of the standings for the power stage. The Race Direction, in fact, canceled SS21 after the terrifying accident of Takamoto Katsuta; the Japanese driver, after tackling a series of high-speed curves, lost control of his Toyota, which lifted on two wheels before flipping over and violently hitting a telegraph pole. Both Katsuta and his co-driver, Aaron Johnston, were airlifted to the nearest medical center for checks, but fortunately their conditions are not worrying, as confirmed by Toyota.
Terrible weekend for Katsuta/Johnston, spectacular second rollover and retirement for the Toyota GR Yaris driver! The Rally of Paraguay is on its way to being the most difficult and challenging of the WRC! #circuitomotor #R800AM
Credit David Espinola Inglés pic.twitter.com/o1dZcb4f73Read more Di Giannantonio: “We suffer for reasons we know very well. But I don’t give up”
— carlos zayas (@carloszayasf) August 30, 2026
The show resumed after the big scare, Solberg again set the best time during the power stage, but the top of the overall standings did not change, with Pajari thus securing his third consecutive seasonal victory after the rallies in Estonia and Finland, shortening his gap in the world standings on Evans.
Rally of Paraguay 2026, final standings (top-10)
| POS. | DRIVER | CAR | TIME/GAP |
| 1 | Sami Pajari | Toyota | 3:13:28.5 |
| 2 | Hayden Paddon | Hyundai | +25.8 |
| 3 | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +40.0 |
| 4 | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +45.1 |
| 5 | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +2:57.0 |
| 6 | Joshua McErlean | Ford | +4:19.0 |
| 7 | Diego Dominguez | Toyota (WRC2) | +7:40.5 |
| 8 | Gus Greensmith | Toyota (WRC2) | +8:30.2 |
| 9 | Alejandro Galanti | Toyota (WRC2) | +10:23.2 |
| 10 | Taylor Gill | Skoda (WRC2) | +10:36.9 |
Next appointment
For the second and last time in this world championship, the WRC will remain in South America also for the next round, the third to last of the season. From September 10 to 13, the championship will move further west, reaching Chile.
Read more Bezzecchi: “I got the most out of this weekend. Acosta tricked me, but today he was faster”
