Toyota pilot Sebastien Ogier strengthened his chances of the ninth world championship title in the Rallye World Championship with a spectacular comeback from eighth place for overall victory in the first rally Paraguay.
Ogier and co -driver Vincent Landais recovered after early tire damage and secured their fourth victory in the current season on the unknown and demanding paraguay gravel roads, which provided plenty of drama.
Ogier won 26.2 seconds after a rain shower had messed up the podium on the last stage. The podium behind Ogiers took Elfyn Evans (Toyota) and the reigning Champion Thierry Neuville (Hyundai).
Toyota pulls the same with Citroen
With the success, its 65th in the Rallye Championship, Ogier is now nine points behind the leader Evans in the World Cup ranking. Toyota pulled the same with Citroen and is now the most successful manufacturer in the WRC together with 102 rally wins.
Paraguay presented itself for the crews as an unknown terrain with fast, treacherous roads, changing grip conditions and hard crops. Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) initially took the lead with a 3.2 second lead over Ogier after the first parliamentary test. A tire damage on the right rear wheel cost Ogier 37.3 seconds during the second exam and threw it back to eighth.
Rovanperä could not say his early lead for long, since Adrien Fourmaux, the only Hyundai driver who was satisfied with the car on Friday, quickly passed him. At lunch service, Fourmaux was just 4.1 seconds ahead of Rovanperä, while Sami Pajari (Toyota) followed in third place. Further tire damage from Fourmaux and Pajari tightened the situation on Friday.
Fourmaux loses the podium on the power days
Ogier showed a strong catch -up and won four of the eight Friday tests, which ended the day in fourth place, 17.8 seconds behind the top. On Saturday he continued his chase and won several exams, while Rovanperä fell back due to further tire damage. Ogier took the lead and expanded it to 10.3 seconds.
The final four spots on Sunday were made more difficult by rain. However, Ogier kept his nerves and secured victory. It remained exciting on the other podium: Ott Tänak (Hyundai), Evans and Neuville fought a tight duel that was influenced by breakdown and changing conditions. Ultimately, Evans took second place and Neuville third, while Fourmaux lost the podium at the Powerstage.
Other title candidates such as Rovanperä or Dänak had to deal with tire damage and technical problems. Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota) ended the rally under super rally conditions after he had previously excreted. M-Sport-Ford had to cope with two failures, including Josh Mcerlean and Gregoire Munster, who had to give up due to damage to their Ford Pumas.
High voltage in the World Cup fight
Oliver Solberg (Toyota) continued his impressive catch -up in the WRC2. After a deficit of over a minute by a tire damage, he won the category and shortened the distance to his title rival Yohan Rossel (Citroen).
Four rallies before the end of the season is the fight for the world driver’s world championship. Evans leads with 198 points, followed by 189 counters Ogier and Rovanperä. Tänak is also not yet out of the race with 178 points. The picture is clear from the manufacturers, where Toyota is now 100 points ahead of Hyundai.
The WRC continues in two weeks (11th to 14th September) with the Rally Chile.