Rovanperä managed to climb into the top spot by the end of Friday and heads into Saturday with a 7.1-second lead over Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux. Fourmaux suffered a puncture on the penultimate stage of the day, which gave Rovanperä the chance to move into the rally lead.
And the Finn duly delivered. However, Rovanperä was not entirely satisfied.
“From the position point of view the day has been good, but we are not too happy with our performance, as we were not the fastest car of the day,” Rovanperä summed up, revealing at the same time the level of his ambition.
“Tomorrow the nature of the stages will change, so let’s see what we can do,” Rovanperä continued.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak is third after Friday, 7.6 seconds off the lead.
Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier suffered a puncture right at the start of the rally, costing him more than half a minute. By the end of the day, however, the French champion is up to fourth, 17.8 seconds adrift.
Elfyn Evans and Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville follow in the next places, but both drivers are already over 20 seconds behind the lead.
Toyota’s Sami Pajari’s day was ruined on the penultimate stage when the Finn suffered a puncture. Pajari is now eighth, nearly two and a half minutes down.
On Saturday, seven special stages await at Rally Paraguay. The event concludes on Sunday.
Rally Paraguay standings after SS8/19:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 1.16.13.3 |
| 2. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +7.1 |
| 3. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +7.6 |
| 4. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +17.8 |
| 5. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +21.1 |
| 6. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +25.7 |
| 7. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +1.18.4 |
| 8. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +2.24.2 |
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
