Sami Pajari won Rally del Paraguay 2026 in Itapúa and secured his third consecutive victory of the season in the World Rally Championship (WRC). With Marko Salminen as his co-driver, the Finn took the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 to overall victory.
The result also made Pajari the first driver to win three consecutive World Rally Championship rounds in 2026. The final overall podium remains uncertain in the supplied reports: one names Hayden Paddon and Adrien Fourmaux, while another places Elfyn Evans third. The official classification needs confirmation.
In WRC2, Diego Domínguez Bejarano won in front of the Paraguayan crowd and became the first driver from the country to win a World Rally Championship category in an event held at home. Driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 with Spanish co-driver Rogelio Peñate, he finished in 3 hours, 21 minutes and 9 seconds, beating Gus Greensmith by 22.7 seconds and Alejandro Galanti by 2 minutes and 42.5 seconds.
The victory was built from the opening stage, but the battle was close on Saturday. Greensmith began the day 39.4 seconds behind, experienced a developing brake problem and still cut the gap to 20.4 seconds in Trinidad. A run off the road on the Encarnación Costanera super special cost him time, and Domínguez ended the day with a 24.3-second lead. Fau Zaldívar fought back to move into third; before the final result, two Paraguayan crews had occupied positions among the top three in WRC2.
Domínguez also lost his glasses after SS10. His mother and wife obtained a replacement pair from a local optician during the midday service. With no mechanical problems, he finished seventh overall, 7 minutes and 40.5 seconds behind Pajari. “It’s incredible. This is especially for my father, who helped me, pushed me to achieve this and continue my rally career,” he said. In 2024, the driver had already won the WRC3 world championship, also with Peñate.
Rally del Paraguay was held for the second consecutive year, and Domínguez’s WRC2 victory gave the event a Paraguayan home win. Santiago Peña said he would continue working to bring international motorsport competitions back to Paraguay, without announcing a timetable or concrete measure. Vice President Pedro Alliana presented Andrea Lafarja as the first Paraguayan woman to reach a World Rally Championship podium.