Rally Paraguay: Virves, Solberg and Rossel neck and neck in WRC2

In the WRC2 category, the second leg of this first Rally of Paraguay was a very lively one. On stages that were as difficult as ever, three different leaders took turns, and at the end of Saturday, the winner remained undecided, especially as Sunday was long and rain was forecast.

Published 31/08/2025 à 01:40

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Rally Paraguay: Virves, Solberg and Rossel close in WRC2

Robert Virves is one of the drivers in a position to win the WRC2 in Paraguay (Photo: Nikos Katikis/DPPI)

Traced northwest of Encarnacion, the 2^e The stage consisted of seven special stages and covered just over 7 km of timed sections. The roads were even faster than the day before, but they had fewer bumps and fewer rough sections. Conversely, they were covered in more dust and loose earth.

Leader on Friday evening, Yohan Rossel (C3) started with a 9" lead over Nikolay Gryazin (Fabia RS). Among the other title contenders, Oliver Solberg (Yaris) was 1th.^e 53''6 from the lead and Fergus Greensmith (Fabia RS) only started 21^e (at 40'34''2) after a huge rear axle problem (SS4). Forced to sweep in the wake of the Rally1s, Rossel had difficulty maintaining his lead. From the 2^e section, he was overtaken by Gryazin. While the Bulgarian was widening the gap, the PH-Sport driver saw Robert Virves (Fabia RS) and Solberg overtake him. He finished this day in 3^e position just 7 seconds behind the leader. The first stage was more suited to our car, as it was more technical., explained the thirty-year-old. Today, in the rapids and the sand…it was impossible for us to compete. We still gave everything and we were lucky after hitting the banks, making a nice square… We couldn't do much better and I even think that sometimes it was too much. You have to put in so much commitment… We are still here and we will have to be counted on Sunday. »

A surprise guest, Virves led Saturday night. The Estonian rode fast without any problems, but he was also the first to admit that his lead was thanks to his Toksport teammate Nikolay Gryazin's puncture. Before that fateful 14^e ES, Virves was 5'' behind, but he was propelled into the lead by Nikolay's tire change. He is now 4^e, but in a regular manner he will have a lot of trouble making up 1'28''5 on Rossel to get on the podium. His result in Paraguay will be very important in the race for the title and he himself has not completely given up, even if this 4^e rank cannot suit him.

If there is one person who aims for nothing other than victory, it is Oliver Solberg.

With a deficit of more than 50 seconds this morning, the Swede launched a strong attack throughout the day. Despite some minor brake problems, he gradually caught up with his rivals, also taking advantage of Gryazin's puncture, Fabrizio Zaldivar's mistake and Diego Dominguez's withdrawal. After a crazy stage at full speed, he is once again in a position to win a 4th stage.^e time this year in WRC2. To do this, the Printsport driver and his rivals will have to negotiate a busy Sunday with 4 SS and above all 79,50 km of timed races.