FINAL CLASSIFICATIONS
WRC / OVERALL
6th: Josh McErlean / Eoin Treacy
Retired Sunday: Jon Armstrong / Shane Byrne (damaged rear suspension), Romet Jürgenson / Siim Oja (accident on road section)
EVENT SUMMARY
The eleventh round of the FIA World Rally Championship delivered a relentless test across Paraguay's distinctive red-gravel roads, with changing grip, high speeds and punishing conditions contributing to an attritional weekend throughout the field.
McErlean and Treacy produced one of their strongest performances of the season to equal their best WRC result, while Armstrong and Byrne once again demonstrated competitive Rally1 pace. In WRC2, Jürgenson and Oja also impressed before their challenge came to a premature end on Saturday.
Severe weather on Friday night into Saturday morning forced the team to battle strong wind and rain, moving the service bays indoors to complete the work needed on Saturday.
Richard Millener, M-Sport Ford Team Principal, said: "Paraguay was a tough event that asked a lot of everyone, and I'm really pleased with how the whole team responded. To come away with sixth for Josh and Eoin, equalling their best WRC result, is a strong reward for a well-judged weekend, and the speed they showed on Friday was genuinely encouraging.
"It's frustrating for Jon and Romet, because both crews had real pace and deserved more from the weekend than they got. That's rallying sometimes, but there's a lot to build on. The way the team adapted to the weather and kept all three cars running when it mattered says a great deal about the effort here, and we head to Chile in good spirits."
CREW SUMMARIES
FORD PUMA RALLY1
#55 Josh McErlean / Eoin Treacy
Benefiting from last year's knowledge, McErlean and Treacy made a strong start, going second fastest on the second stage to move up to fourth overall. They went third fastest on SS3 and climbed to second overall by lunchtime service as other crews fell foul of the conditions.
The afternoon's conditions cost them a few positions, though they continued to deliver a strong performance in the Puma Rally1. A puncture on SS7 forced them to stop mid-stage to change the tyre, losing time and dropping to fifth overall, which they held overnight into Saturday.
Buoyed by their Friday performance, the pair went into Saturday determined to hold onto their hard-earned place in the overall standings. Keeping a measured pace through the morning loop, they held fifth heading into midday service.
The pressure grew in the afternoon as the Swedish driver Solberg chipped away at the gap on each stage. Despite fighting hard all afternoon, the Irish pair were passed by Solberg on the final stage of the day, ending Saturday sixth ahead of Sunday's four stages.
A measured drive through the morning kept things clean on the muddy stages, where there was little margin for error. A broken gear stick then threatened to slow them, but a creative fix with a toolkit spanner kept them going. They signed off the event eighth fastest on the Power Stage to secure sixth overall, matching their best WRC result to date and carrying real confidence into Rally Chile.
Josh McErlean, 6th overall, said: “So, that’s Paraguay finished. Sixth overall, equal to our best WRC result. All in all, it’s been a positive weekend. Obviously, it was very tricky with the conditions and everything that Paraguay threw at us. But Friday was strong. Up until the puncture, we were essentially fighting for the podium.
“Saturday was a bit more tricky with the setup and, obviously, the weather we were expecting. But we had some issues on Sunday, managed to fix them and get to the finish. So, all in all, a positive weekend and hopefully we can keep improving our pace going into Chile.”
#95 Jon Armstrong / Shane Byrne
Opening the weekend in style, Armstrong and Byrne went joint-third fastest on SS2, only 0.1s behind teammate McErlean, which put them fifth overall. Drama followed on SS3, where Armstrong hit a rock and picked up a puncture. The tyre quickly tore apart on the abrasive surface, causing a brake failure that sent the pair spinning downhill. They finished the stage but lost nearly a minute and a half, then made an interim fix and managed the damage through the Autodromo Super Special Stage to reach midday service.
With the car badly damaged, the team worked through the 30-minute service to repair it. Leaving the bay 14 minutes late brought a 2m 20s penalty, dropping the pair to 16th overall. A consistent afternoon loop saw them recover two places to end the day 14th, ready to start afresh on Saturday.
Saturday brought a strong performance from Armstrong, who stayed close to McErlean on the stage times and set the fourth-fastest time on SS11 and third-fastest on SS12, 0.3s quicker than Solberg. The Irish pair had climbed back to 10th overall by midday. More consistent pace in the afternoon loop’s loose conditions, including fifth-fastest on SS16, lifted Armstrong to eighth overall by the end of Saturday, a strong recovery after Friday’s misfortune.
Sunday, however, would be cut short for the pair. After a strong opening two stages he sat seventh overall, on course to finish behind teammate McErlean. But a moment on SS20 saw him clip a bank, causing extensive damage to the rear-left suspension. They reached the end of the stage but could go no further, bringing their first Rally del Paraguay to a premature end.
Jon Armstrong, retired Sunday, said: “So, Rally Paraguay. We had quite a good start on Friday with some good times, but then we got a puncture that we drove on, which ended up damaging the brakes. Then we spun and damaged the car. Friday ended up losing us a lot of time with the repairs we needed to do in service. Then Saturday was a strong day, with some good stage times, and we clawed our way back up to seventh on Sunday.
“Then, three stages from the end, we came to a section that changed surface slightly. We didn’t have quite as much grip as we were expecting, so we went a bit wide, touched a bank and broke the rear suspension.
“So, yeah, really frustrating not to get a result. It’s a bit tricky at the moment because there have been a few results that we’ve missed out on, but we’re going to try and do our best to finish out the year strong now, with Chile coming up next.”
FORD FIESTA RALLY2
#30 Romet Jürgenson / Siim Oja
Romet Jürgenson and Siim Oja completed M-Sport Ford’s three-car entry in Paraguay aboard the Ford Fiesta Rally2, arriving ready to take on another highly competitive WRC2 field.
The Estonian crew made an immediate impression by setting the fastest WRC2 time in Thursday’s shakedown, an encouraging marker ahead of the rally. Jürgenson maintained that form through Friday’s demanding opening leg. While numerous crews encountered problems on the abrasive Paraguayan roads, he delivered a composed performance to complete the day fourth in WRC2 and third among the WRC2 Challenger runners.
The pace continued into Saturday morning, with Jürgenson pushing strongly against the leading Rally2 crews. Saturday then came to an unfortunate end on SS11; on the fast, slippery clay-surfaced stage the Fiesta Rally2 lost grip and rolled heavily, sustaining substantial damage. The crew were unharmed, and the car was returned to service for repairs under Super Rally rules.
The crew continued on Sunday morning, back on the pace and setting third-fastest times on SS19 and SS20. After the cancellation of SS21, however, they were involved in an accident on the road section to the closing stage, which prevented them from completing the rally.
Despite the disappointment, the Estonian crew take real encouragement from their pace in Paraguay, carrying it into Rally Chile in just over a week’s time.
Romet Jürgenson, retired Sunday, said: “It was quite an up-and-down weekend again. Friday didn’t start very well. We had some stuff loose in the cockpit on stage one, which distracted me a bit, and then we got a puncture. We had some small issues in the first loop, but after that we got going. The second loop was fine and we climbed up to fourth.
“Unfortunately, on Saturday, while pushing quite hard, the rear snapped in a fast corner and we went off. The team managed to fix the car, and on Sunday we showed some good pace again. But that’s about it. I think we need to almost forget it and go to Chile.”
