Rovanperä suffered a puncture on the longest stage of the day, Artigas, and dropped a long way behind the leaders.
To Rovanperä’s misfortune, the puncture happened already before the halfway point of the stage, costing him a lot of time. He lost almost two minutes and 40 seconds to his team-mate Sébastien Ogier’s benchmark time. The Finn tumbled from the lead down to sixth place in one go. His rally is hopelessly ruined.
“I’ve no idea where the puncture came from. We didn’t hit anything hard at least, so I don’t know. Jonne said we could drive to the end of the stage, but clearly that was the wrong decision this time,” Rovanperä said at the stage finish.
Because of Rovanperä’s bad luck, Ogier has now moved into the rally lead. Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux climbed into second, just 9.2 seconds adrift of Ogier.
Championship leader Elfyn Evans moved into third place overall. The Welshman trails the lead by 34.6 seconds. Hyundai’s Ott Tänak is fourth, 40.7 seconds off the lead. Rovanperä has already dropped nearly two and a half minutes behind.
Toyota’s Sami Pajari could not match the pace of the leaders either. He was only seventh fastest on this stage, and the Finn has fallen three minutes and 10 seconds off the lead. In the overall standings, Pajari sits just behind Rovanperä in seventh.
The penultimate stage of the day also proved costly for home driver Fabrizio Zaldivar. He went off the road but was able to continue. Nikolai Gryazin also suffered a puncture on this stage.
Rally Paraguay still has one more stage to run on Saturday. The rally finishes on Sunday.
Rally Paraguay standings after SS14/19:
| POS | Dirver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 2.08.39.5 |
| 2. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +9.2 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +34.6 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +40.7 |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +42.6 |
| 6. | Kalle Rovanperä | Hyundai | +2.23.6 |
| 7. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +3.10.6 |
| 8. | Robert Virves | Skoda | +5.14.5 |
| 9. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +5.22.6 |
| 10. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +5.26.6 |
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
