Ogier started the second stage at winning pace, but ran into problems midway through. His car suffered a right-rear puncture, which cost him dearly.
By the end of the Nueva Alborada stage, Ogier had dropped more than half a minute compared to the fastest time.
“A lot of rocks in the middle of the road and straight on the line. But that’s how it is,” Ogier lamented.
Ogier fell from second overall to eighth. Before the puncture he had been just three seconds behind leader Kalle Rovanperä, but now the gap stretched to 36.1 seconds.
Rovanperä’s lead shrank to just 0.4 seconds after Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux produced a stunning stage win. Fourmaux beat his team-mate Ott Tänak by 4.3 seconds, with Rovanperä a further tenth back.
“I was trying to be very clean. I’m a bit sad, because on one long straight I thought there was a crest and a corner after it, but actually it was still flat. I lost at least two seconds, but it’s okay,” Fourmaux said.
“This was a tougher stage. Straight away, when there was less grip, it wasn’t easy to drive precisely. I didn’t have a good flow, and the car was sliding here and there. But otherwise it was okay,” Rovanperä added.
Toyota’s Sami Pajari continues in third place, only five seconds off the lead. Ott Tänak and Elfyn Evans follow right behind, with the top five covered by less than ten seconds.
Rally Paraguay continues on Friday with six more stages. The event concludes on Sunday.
Rally Paraguay standings after SS2/19:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 20:21.8 |
| 2. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +0.4 |
| 3. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +5.0 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +8.3 |
| 5. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +9.1 |
| 6. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +14.4 |
| 7. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +19.7 |
| 8. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +36.1 |
| 9. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +46.3 |
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
