Ogier elated and frustrated with Rally Paraguay victory

Sebastien Ogier claimed a hard-earned comeback victory on Rally Paraguay's debut in the FIA World Rally Championship, but rued a missed chance to narrow his gap to the WRC points lead as rain fell in the closing minutes of the final stage.

The eight-time WRC champ’s final-leg performance sealed an extraordinary weekend that began with him dropping almost 40s to a tire deflation on his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 on Friday, but ended with his 65th WRC rally victory.

It was the Frenchman’s 18th triumph for Toyota, making him the Japanese manufacturer's most successful driver ever – a record he previously shared with teammate Kalle Rovanpera – and Toyota’s 102nd WRC win, which equaled Citroen's all-time record tally.

Adrien Fourmaux was poised to claim a career-best second place after fighting at the front throughout, but dropped to fourth in his Hyundai i20 N Rally 1 on the rally-closing, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage when the rain started to fall as the leading crews began their runs. That allowed Toyota’s Elfyn Evans to finish second – his first podium finish since Rally Canary Islands in April – with Thierry Neuville sneaking into third in another factory Hyundai.  

Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux saw a career-best WRC finish slip from his grasp as the rains arrived. Getty Images

Ott Tanak, who had been ahead of Evans before a penultimate stage puncture, finished fifth for Hyundai, while two-time WRC champ Rovanpera took sixth after leading the rally until a puncture on his GR Yaris late on Saturday afternoon.

Ogier won the event by 26.2s, but the rain that fell in the closing minutes of the Power Stage not only dashed Fourmaux’s podium hopes, but reduced Ogier’s winning margin from the 39.1s buffer he’d held starting it. Slowed by the slippery conditions, Ogier missed out on the chance of scoring more than one Super Sunday point, along with any additional points from the Power Stage.

That late shakeup means Evans’ WRC points lead remains intact, albeit at a reduced nine points, with Ogier and Rovanpera tied for second in an all-Toyota top three. Tanak, best of the Hyundais, is now 20 points behind.

Late rain allowed Toyota’s Elfyn Evans to grab second place and hang on to his WRC points lead. Red Bull Content Pool

Opting not to get out of the car and celebrate his win at the finish of the Power Stage, an agitated Ogier said: “How unlucky can you be? The only one to have this heavy rain. But we’ll keep winning, and we’ll win this championship.”

Should that prove the case, he’ll equal fellow Frenchman – and fellow Sebastien – Sebastien Loeb’s total of nine WRC titles. That was a long shot at the start of the season, when Ogier elected to once again run only a partial schedule. But as the wins stacked up – three in his first four starts – and a championship tilt looked more plausible, he’s now running all the remaining rounds in his quest to hunt down Evans.

Once calmed down again, Ogier hailed Paraguay’s debut on rallying’s biggest stage, noting: “South America has never really been [home to] my most lucky rounds. The only rally I never won was Argentina back then, and in Chile we also had some bad luck like last year. It’s good to finally be on the top step of the podium in front of an amazing atmosphere. It was a big success for the first time here.” 

Sebastien Ogier, co-driven by Vincent Landais, earned a 65th WRC win, but was frustrated not to maximize his points haul in the quest for a ninth WRC title.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Oliver Solberg charged back from an opening day puncture to earn his fourth class victory of the season over fellow title contender Yohan Rossel. A win at Rally Chile in two weeks’ time would therefore seal the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 driver the WRC2 title.

“Not a bad comeback.” said Solberg, whose post-puncture fightback included a clean sweep of fastest times on all seven of Saturday’s stages. “We fought hard and never gave up. I rate this below [my] Estonia [win], but I don’t know – maybe equal.”

Rossel finished 22.5s adrift in his Citroen C3, with erstwhile leader Nikolay Gryazin third after stopping to change a puncture on his Skoda Fabia RS on Saturday. Robert Virves also led the event but dropped back with a tire change, eventually finishing fourth in his Skoda.

Another WRC2 title contender, Gus Greensmith’s event was wrecked on the first morning when the rear axle on his Skoda Fabia RS gave up, leaving the British driver with his first non-score of the season.

In WRC2, Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 driver Oliver Solberg completed his charge back to grab class honors.

The WRC’s South American swing concludes in less than a fortnight when the championship heads to Rally Chile, Sept. 11-14, for another all-gravel fixture.

WRC Rally Paraguay, final positions after Sunday/Leg Three, SS19
1 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 3h00m06.6s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +26.2s
3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +27.2s
4 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +28.5s
5 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +30.6s
6 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m05.2s
7 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +3m35.5s
8 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2 winner) +6m53.8s
9 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Citroen C3 – WRC2) +7m16.3s

10 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +8m48.2s

WRC Drivers’ Championship after 10 of 14 rounds
1 Evans 198 points

3 Ogier 189

2 Rovanpera 189

4 Tanak 178 

5 Neuville 150

6 Takamoto Katsuta 88

WRC Manufacturers’ Championship after 10 of 14 rounds
1 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 513 points   

2 Hyundai Word Rally Team 413   

3 M-Sport Ford 143

4 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 96

• Catch more 2025 WRC action on the RACER+ App and the RACER Network. There’s LIVE Wolf Power Stage coverage from all remaining rallies on the RACER+ App, plus same-day airings on the RACER Network. Next up, it’s part two of the WRC’s South American double-header, with Rally Chile Power Stage action on Sunday, Sept. 14. That’s followed by the all-asphalt blasts of Central European Rally and Rally Japan, then an all-new gravel rally in Saudi Arabia as the season finale. You can find out more about the RACER+ App at www.racerplus.com.