The Toyota driver stretched his overall lead further as he set his second stage win of the day. His team-mate Sébastien Ogier launched a strong attack on the Cantera stage, but the Finn managed to fend off the Frenchman’s charge towards the top spot.
Rovanperä eventually beat Ogier by just 0.5 seconds.
“The stage was cleaning a lot, so I just tried to stay on the line. We could have gone a bit faster,” Rovanperä said, before turning the criticism on himself:
“I think we should be a bit faster compared to Seb, because he is starting a bit earlier. Anyway, that’s the pace we have.”
Rovanperä’s overall lead grew to 17.4 seconds ahead of Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux, who took third place on the Cantera stage. Ogier, in third overall, closed to just 1.4 seconds behind Fourmaux.
“The plan is to frighten everybody in every rally. But I’m fighting against tough guys, and they are not afraid,” Ogier joked.
The leading trio pulled away from the rest of the field on Saturday’s third stage. Elfyn Evans, in fourth, dropped to 40 seconds behind Rovanperä, with Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville behind him, followed by Ott Tänak, who suffered a puncture on the previous stage.
Rally Paraguay continues on Saturday with four more special stages. The rally concludes on Sunday.
Rally Paraguay standings after SS11/19:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 1:45:53.7 |
| 2. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +17.4 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +18.8 |
| 4. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +40.5 |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +44.6 |
| 6. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +49.2 |
| 7. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +3:03.7 |
| 8. | Nikolay Gryazin | Skoda | +4:18.1 |
| 9. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +4:24.8 |
| 9. | Robert Virves | Skoda | +4:24.8 |
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
