This week’s Rally del Paraguay is a step into the unknown for all of the World Rally Championship’s top-tier crews.
Joining the schedule alongside next month’s Rally Chile as part of back-to-back events in South America, Paraguay will offer its own unique challenges. The teams and drivers have been doing their homework on just what they might be – and some have reached a perhaps surprising conclusion.
Having completed an intense run of European rallies with a perfect 1-2-3-4-5 result on home roads at Rally Finland earlier this month, TGR-WRT travels to South America with its full fleet of five GR YARIS Rally1 cars – back in their regular all-black livery after a lighter silver summer scheme was used on the previous events.
With five rounds remaining in the 2025 season, the team has a lead of 87 points in the manufacturers’ championship, and three drivers leading the way in the title race. Elfyn Evans is back in the lead of the drivers’ standings, with Kalle Rovanperä just three points behind after his home win at Rally Finland. Sébastien Ogier is 10 points further back in third, level with Hyundai driver Ott Tänak.
These three drivers will compete for manufacturers’ points, supported by Takamoto Katsuta – fresh from a strong second-place finish in Finland. Sami Pajari joins his team-mates in competing in all black for the next two rallies, even though his car remains entered under the TGR-WRT2 banner.
A strong pack of eight GR Yaris Rally2 cars are also entered in WRC2.
Championship leader Oliver Solberg (Printsport) of Sweden is joined in making the trip by Poland’s Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Rallylab Technology) and Bolivian Marco Bulacia (Delta Rally) while five cars are driven by Paraguayans: WRC2 regular Diego Domínguez Jr (Teo Martín Motorsport) joined by TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Paraguay duo Alejandro Galanti and Tiago Weiler, Gustavo Saba (Saba Competición) and Diego Domínguez Sr (DTA Rally Team).
Hyundai Motorsport is no stranger to success on South American soil. At Rally Chile, the team has claimed three podiums in 2019, 2023 and 2024, while at Rally Argentina its crews have scored three victories and six podiums between 2016-2019.
Despite the challenging finish in Finland, the team’s early rally-winning pace showed the potential of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 on gravel. That speed, combined with the crews’ adaptability, will be important in tackling Paraguay’s untested stages. The team is confident its road positions on Friday will allow its crews to extract the full potential of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 as it targets a return to the podium.
Munster and Louka arrive in Paraguay buoyed by the confidence gained from a string of recent gravel events. Building on their consistency and pace throughout the season, the duo is aiming to use that momentum to push for a strong result on these new stages.
For McErlean and Treacy, the rally marks another milestone in their debut WRC campaign and their first competitive outing in South America.
The Irish crew has shown impressive progress during the year, learning with every kilometre, and will be focused on continuing their upward trajectory – both in terms of car set-up and stage strategy – while pushing to match the pace of their teammates.
