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Toyota’s Elfyn Evans was fastest on the first pass through the Bella Vista stage. Conditions had not changed significantly when the stage of just over 21 kilometres was run for a second time. The rain still stayed away, leaving the entire stage dry. This time, Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux was fastest, with Elfyn Evans 1.0 seconds behind and Sebastien Ogier 1.2 seconds adrift. Fourmaux continues to chase the top three, but the gap narrowed by only one second on this stage. “It is extremely difficult to gain time because everyone knows this road well and it is flat out from one junction to the next. We will try to make the difference on the other stages,” the French driver said. Sami Pajari made a small driving error on the stage. The Toyota driver missed his braking point for a junction and lost a few extra seconds. Until then, the splits had shown him on course for the fastest time. Pajari ultimately finished 1.7 seconds behind Fourmaux, setting the fourth-fastest time. “Thanks to my engineer, who told me in service that I should brake later for that junction, so I tried it,” Pajari said with a laugh after the stage. Pajari then asked how his time compared with Hayden Paddon’s. When he learned that the driving error had not proved costly and Paddon had finished behind him, a relieved smile spread across his face. “Okay, then it’s nothing. All good,” Pajari said happily. Ford’s Josh McErlean and Toyota’s Oliver Solberg are currently locked in a close battle for fifth place. McErlean still holds fifth, but the gap is down to just 26.9 seconds after standing at more than a minute at the start of the day. “That was really hard on the tyres, more than I thought. Halfway through the stage, I thought we needed to make this work. It is going to be a difficult task, but we will do our best,” the Irishman said. There are four more stages to be contested at Rally Paraguay on Saturday. The rally concludes on Sunday. Rally Paraguay standings after SS13/22: | Position | Driver | Car | Time | |---|---|---|---| | 1. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | 2:18:26.9 | | 2. | Hayden Paddon | Hyundai | +25.0 | | 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +54.8 | | 4. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +1:25.6 | | 5. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +3:12.7 | | 6. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +3:39.6 | | 7. | Diego Dominguez | Toyota | +4:52.1 | | 8. | Gus Greensmith | Toyota | +5:24.3 | Rally Paraguay itinerary (CET): Thursday 27 August 17.01 Shakedown: Carmen del Parana (5,60 km) Friday 28 August 15.03 SS1: Cambyreta 1 (24,65 km) 15.56 SS2: Nueva Alborada 1 (15,66 km) 16.49 SS3: Yerbateras 1 (34,08 km) 17.50 SS4: Autodromo 1 (2,50 km) 18:06 Service (30 min) 19:19 SS5: Cambyreta 2 (24.65 km) 20:12 SS6: Nueva Alborada 2 (15.66 km) 21:05 SS7: Yerbateras 2 (34.08 km) 22:18 SS8: Autodromo 2 (2.50 km) Saturday 29 August 13:19 SS9: Bella Vista 1 (21.15 km) 14:12 SS10: Bella Vista Sur 1 (10.95 km) 15:05 SS11: Hohenau 1 (19.40 km) 16:02 SS12: Trinidad 1 (14.82 km) 17:17 Service C – Encarnación (30 min) 19:16 SS13: Bella Vista 2 (21.15 km) 20:09 SS14: Bella Vista Sur 2 (10.95 km) 21:05 SS15: Hohenau 2 (19.40 km) 22:02 SS16: Trinidad 2 (14.82 km) 23:05 SS17: Encarnación Costanera (3.10 km) Sunday 30 August 12:05 SS18: Encarnación 1 (10.21 km) 13:38 SS19: Artigas 1 (19.63 km) 15:51 SS20: Artigas Oeste (8.44 km) 16:43 SS21: Artigas 2 (19.63 km) 19:15 SS22: Encarnación 2 (10.21 km) *Power Stage