Preview: Round 11 – Rally del Paraguay

Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team is ready to fight back at Rally del Paraguay (August 27-30) following a difficult Rally Finland, where Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria finished fourth and Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe fifth. Despite showing promising pace across the weekend, the team left Finland disappointed not to have converted its potential into a top-three finish. Hyundai Motorsport now turns its attention to the first event of the FIA World Rally Championship’s South American double-header, where it will look to convert pace into podiums.

Based around Encarnación, Rally del Paraguay features distinctive red-earth gravel roads that combine fast, flowing sections with more technical stages and frequent changes in grip. The soft surface can deteriorate significantly between passes, creating deep ruts and exposing rocks, while fine dust can reduce visibility in dry conditions and rain can quickly transform the characteristics of the roads. The 2026 edition features 22 stages covering 357.64km of competitive distance, with the route taking crews through the Itapúa region across four days of action.
 
Hyundai Motorsport arrives with Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux joined by Hayden Paddon in the third Hyundai i20 N Rally1. Paddon and co-driver John Kennard return for their fourth WRC event of the year following appearances in Monte-Carlo, Croatia and Japan, bringing further gravel experience to the team for the championship’s return to South America. Hyundai Motorsport’s three cars will also carry a special livery for Rally del Paraguay, which will remain on the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 for Rally Chile two weeks later, celebrating the WRC’s two-round South American double-header.

Q+A with Hyundai Motorsport WRC Sporting Director Andrew Wheatley

After showing strong pace but not quite getting the result you were capable of in Finland, what are the team's expectations for Rally del Paraguay?
“Finland was a case of ‘what if’, with challenging weather changing the outcome of the event. We have to put this behind us, refocus on the positives and look towards the next two rallies with confidence. The team was fast in 2025 in both Paraguay and Chile but suffered with small issues that meant a win was not possible. Twelve months later, we know that the hard work the team has done on the pre-event preparation and the rally-by-rally setup for the Evo version of the Rally1 i20 N means that the pace shown on the rough gravel stages in Kenya, Portugal and Greece, plus the confirmation that we are close to the target car speed for the smooth, fast gravel stages, should help us to start Paraguay in a positive mindset. As always, fighting for a win against strong competition means no mistakes, but we have three crews that can challenge for the podium.”
 
What did the team learn from last year's inaugural Rally del Paraguay that will help this time around?
“Since Paraguay last year, a huge amount of work has been done to understand the Evo chassis and to make the crews as confident as possible. However, a mix of changeable weather conditions on high-speed roads, with some big compressions that contribute to a high puncture risk, means that the Paraguay setup will always be about trying to find the best compromise. A combination of punctures, a couple of small off-road excursions and some niggles on the car, including a problematic watersplash on day three, kept the crews from fighting for the top step of the podium in 2025. But this is exactly where the bulk of the work has been done this year, and we can start this event with confidence high.”
 
What will be the key to fighting for a strong result this weekend?
“As with all events in the WRC, a strong start and consistent performance is essential in Paraguay. But unlike Estonia and Finland, this is not an event where the stage wins are measured in tenths of a second, so there is some opportunity for the crews to establish a good rhythm without pushing at 100% from SS1. Keeping clean, driving to the conditions and managing the challenges will be key to bringing home a good result.”

Views from the crews  

Thierry Neuville said:

I’m really looking forward to Paraguay. After two fast rallies, we are back to more typical gravel stages, with a more dynamic and technical profile, which I generally prefer. I really enjoyed the stages last year and the atmosphere was great, so I can’t wait to be back. We learned a lot from the event last year, particularly with some of the technical choices we made, so this year we have made some different choices with the set-up. The roads are also quite cambered and the weather can play an important role – when it rained last year, it was super slippery. Finland didn’t go as we wanted, although we had the speed and were back to a good feeling on Sunday. For me, I’m only chasing victories and the best possible results, so the target in Paraguay is as high as it can be.

Adrien Fourmaux said: 

Last year we had a really strong rally in Paraguay. We were leading on Friday and fighting at the front for most of the weekend, so it’s an event where we know we can be competitive. The stages are quite unique, with the grip changing a lot and some very fast sections, so you need to have confidence in the car and be able to adapt quickly. We learned a lot there last year, and after our recent performances on fast gravel I’m looking forward to going back. The target is clear: we want to fight at the front again and this time make sure we come away with the result.
 

Hayden Paddon said:

I’m very excited to finally be on gravel with the car, and to be doing it in South America makes it even more special. It feels like a full-circle moment. Our mileage on gravel is limited to just two short tests, but from the very first kilometre I felt at home in the car and on the surface. I know the car reasonably well now from our tarmac events, and gravel is my comfort zone, so it’s a matter of combining the two and getting up to speed as quickly as possible. We’ve spent a lot of time studying videos and data to prepare, and the fact that 40% of the route is new this year helps us a little. The target is different to our tarmac events – this time we want to drive flat out, give it everything we have and deliver the strongest result possible for the team.