news-engine

Toyota is in an excellent position in the rally and has an opportunity to clinch the manufacturers’ title at this stage of the season. Toyota needs to score six more points in Paraguay than arch-rival Hyundai. Heavy rain had originally been forecast for Saturday, which would have made the task extremely challenging. Kankkunen therefore breathed a sigh of relief when the weather remained dry, with far fewer incidents than on the opening day of the rally on Friday. “In the end, today was a much calmer day than yesterday, which I think was welcome. Everybody had gone out with wet weather setups expecting the rain, but it remained pretty dry on the stages,” Kankkunen summed up. “Still, it was not easy out there and you needed to take care with the tyres but all our drivers did a good job.” Kankkunen expects an exciting day on Sunday. Sami Pajari has a fine opportunity to complete a hat-trick with a third consecutive victory. Third-placed Elfyn Evans , meanwhile, faces a defensive battle after Hyundai driver Adrien Fourmaux launched a fierce attack on Saturday, taking the Frenchman to within 3.3 seconds of Evans. “Sami has been able to increase the lead and Elfyn is doing what he needs to do, even if Adrien is pushing very hard behind,” Kankkunen summed up. “Let’s see if the rain now comes for tomorrow, because we know that can make things very challenging, so nothing is decided yet.” Sunday’s final leg of Rally Paraguay features another five special stages, covering a total of around 66 competitive kilometres.