Sami Pajari claimed the Rally Paraguay lead after emerging from a punishing opening day headlined by a series of punctures and crashes that shook up the World Rally Championship leaderboard.
Pajari and co-driver Marko Salminen, chasing a third WRC win after wins in Estonia and Finland, started the afternoon loop fourth overall and 33.2s from the lead. The Finnish pairing were delayed by a water leak on their GR Yaris in the morning, but ended the day as the only Rally1 crew to avoid the tyre problems that plagued Friday’s gravel stages.
