Sébastien Ogier continues to lead Rally del Paraguay as drama befell the Hyundais on SS18
Photography by Hyundai
Words by Luke Barry
Ott Tänak dropped out of the podium places with a puncture on the penultimate stage of Rally del Paraguay, as there was also a scare for Hyundai team-mate Adrien Fourmaux.
Tänak had been third halfway through the final leg, 1.8s ahead of Elfyn Evans, but a rear-right puncture cost him 11.4s and dropped him to fifth behind Thierry Neuville as well.
Explaining what happened, Tänak said: “It’s Hankook, so it can happen. In the beginning, the water splash, the engine was full of water so we stopped there as well. It was not a good stage.”
Evans could understand how his rival hit trouble.
“There’s just big rocks there everywhere, a bit of a lottery,” he said. “I tried to keep my car in the middle of the road as much as possible, but there’s rocks everywhere.”
Evans has 4.7s in hand over Neuville, but second-placed Fourmaux is now just 3.3s ahead as he lost valuable time through the same water splash that caused problems for Tänak.
“In a water splash the engine died,” Fourmaux said. “To be fair I thought it was over, but the engine cleared itself and came back after. But I lost also the lights so I didn’t know when to shift.
“We need to finish second, for me it’s deserved with all that’s happened,” he added. “One to go.”
Sébastien Ogier’s rally lead stands at 39.1s with one stage to go.
Words:Luke Barry
Tags: Ott Tanak, Rally del Paraguay, Rally del Paraguay 2025, WRC, WRC 2025
Publish Date August 31, 2025 DirtFish 
https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2025/08/ISbRRN6w-2025PARAGUAY_VT_309-780x520.jpg August 31, 2025
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