Taka tops Paraguay shakedown ahead of Hyundai trio

Here is the thing about Takamoto Katsuta: when he decides to fly, he really flies. The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver laid down a marker on Thursday morning by topping the timesheets on the ueno Rally del Paraguay shakedown. Attended by Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, the 5.60km Carmen del Paraná shakedown stage saw Katsuta do something nobody else managed to pull off all morning.

Driving his Yaris GR Rally1 machine, the Japanese driver was the solitary competitor to crack the three-minute barrier. Completing his third run, he stopped the clock at 2min 59.5sec. It was a stunning piece of driving that left a chasing pack of Hyundais in his wake—and what a chasing pack it was, because the trio behind him did something almost unbelievable.

Hayden Paddon, Adrien Fourmaux, and Thierry Neuville all somehow managed to set the exact same time of 3min 01.1sec. Paddon got there first on his second run, marking his first competitive gravel outing in the Hyundai i20N Rally1 and his first top-level WRC start on gravel since 2018. Having previously podiumed in Croatia in just his second Rally1 start earlier this year, Paddon was brimming with confidence. At stage end, he told reporters: “I’m a lot more confident on gravel in the car…I will enjoy tomorrow while it is dry…we will do the best we can and we will push. We are here to do that.” Fourmaux and Neuville matched him stride for stride, with Neuville securing his identical time on his third run.

Just behind them in fifth place sat championship leader Elfyn Evans, a mere tenth of a second further back after sensibly choosing to complete only two runs. The Welshman led the M-Sport Ford duo of Jon Armstrong and Josh McErlean, with the event marking Armstrong’s very first start on South American soil.

Rounding out the top ten were a cluster of Toyotas piloted by Oliver Solberg, Sami Pajari, and Séb Ogier. Solberg had the distinct honour of taking President Peña for a high-speed run through the shakedown stage. Meanwhile, the 2025 winner Ogier completed just a single competitive run before inviting Paraguayan Vice-President Pedro Alliana aboard his Yaris for a thrilling co-drive.