Tänak suffered a puncture, which cost him over half a minute. At the same time, the Estonian dropped from second place in the rally down to sixth. Tänak was visibly disappointed at the finish of the Artigas stage.
“Unfortunately, there was something I didn’t see. This was actually the easiest stage of the rally in terms of conditions, so it was a big surprise. It’s a big shame that punctures determine the champion,” Tänak lamented.
At the head of the rally remains Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä, whose lead over second-placed Hyundai driver Adrien Fourmaux is 14.8 seconds. In third sits Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier, who has staged an impressive comeback after suffering a puncture on Friday morning.
“This stage was a disappointment. At the beginning my pace notes were also poor, so I lost easy seconds there. The car is better than yesterday,” said Rovanperä, who was only 1.3 seconds slower than Ogier’s stage-winning time.
Ogier has closed right up to his compatriot Fourmaux, with just 3.8 seconds separating the pair. In fourth place is Toyota’s Elfyn Evans ahead of Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville and Tänak.
“We tried flat out, but this is not the best possible stage, as we’re on the limiter all the time. A pity for Ott that he had a puncture,” Ogier commented.
Sami Pajari has climbed to seventh in the rally, as Ford’s Josh McErlean was forced to retire before the tenth stage due to a problem that occurred on the previous test.
In Rally Paraguay, five more stages will be run on Saturday. The competition will conclude on Sunday.
Rally Paraguay standings after SS10/19:
| POS. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 1:37:06.7 |
| 2. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +14.5 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +18.3 |
| 4. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +28.8 |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +33.0 |
| 6. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +44.2 |
| 7. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +2:49.5 |
| 8. | Nikolay Gryazin | Skoda | +3:59.2 |
| 9. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +4:05.8 |
| 10. | Robert Virves | Skoda | +4:06.5 |
Rally Paraguay itinerary (CET):
Thursday 28 August
14:01 Shakedown: Trinidad (4.92 km)
Friday 29 August
13:03 SS1: Cambyretá 1 (18.70 km)
14:01 SS2: Nueva Alborada 1 (19.25 km)
15:00 SS3: Yerbatera 1 (30.00 km)
16:01 SS4: Autódromo 1 (2.50 km)
17:11 Service (40 min)
18:34 SS5: Cambyretá 2 (18.70 km)
19:32 SS6: Nueva Alborada 2 (19.25 km)
20:31 SS7: Yerbatera 2 (30.00 km)
21:44 SS8: Autódromo 2 (2.50 km)
Saturday 30 August
12:35 SS9: Carmen del Paraná 1 (18.67 km)
13:38 SS10: Artigas 1 (22.73 km)
15:16 SS11: Cantera 1 (13.74 km)
16:35 SS12: Autódromo 3 (2.50 km)
17:35 Service (40 min)
19:05 SS13: Carmen del Paraná 2 (18.67 km)
20:08 SS14: Artigas 2 (22.73 km)
21:46 SS15: Cantera 2 (13.74 km)
Sunday 31 August
13:29 SS16: Bella Vista 1 (21.25 km)
15:05 SS17: Misión Jesuítica Trinidad 1 (18.50 km)
16:02 SS18: Bella Vista 2 (21.25 km)
18:15 SS19: Misión Jesuítica Trinidad 2 (18.50 km) *Power Stage
