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Two-time European Rally Champion Hayden Paddon has taken the lead in Rally Paraguay after the third special stage, following former leader Oliver Solberg's loss of nearly four minutes due to an engine issue and a puncture.
The incredibly dramatic morning in South America continued with Sébastien Ogier retiring due to an earlier suspension failure, while Adrien Fourmaux and Jon Armstrong also lost significant time after tire problems on the longest section of the race.
Solberg's Toyota required a push start before the "Yerba Teras" stage (34.08 km). He then stalled the engine while braking for a chicane and had to wait for assistance from spectators to continue.
"Push! Push!" Solberg shouted, appealing to fans for help.
At the end of the stage, he explained: "The engine stalled under braking, and obviously that led to going off track because you have no engine braking. Then I couldn't start it, nothing was happening. I had to wait for a few people to push, and it was too tight."
"Then, suddenly on the straight, a slow puncture appeared," he added.
Fourmaux seemed poised to capitalize on the situation but also suffered from a disintegrating tire mid-stage. A quick change by Fourmaux and his co-driver Alexandre Coria limited the time loss to less than two minutes, but the Hyundai driver dropped to seventh in the overall standings.
Paddon inherited the lead instead, despite not being happy with his tire choice. The Hyundai drivers were the only Rally1 class competitors to take hard tires for the morning stages, fitting them for the long third section. However, Paddon disliked the resulting balance.
"How did that happen?" the New Zealander asked when informed he had taken the rally lead after winning the stage.
"Obviously, conditions are very, very tough for everyone. I apologize to my grandmother, but she could drive better than me. We changed tires, it didn't work out, I didn't like the hard tire at all, it just wasn't working," he stated.
"So I had problems with the front, and then with the rear because of the worn soft tires. This complicates things for the afternoon because I don't think the tire choice will be easy."
This marks the first time Paddon has led a World Rally Championship event since 2018, and he admitted he needed to "enjoy the moment."
Paddon holds a 23.9-second lead over Josh McErlean, who lost most of that time on the third stage and also suffered a puncture towards the end. "I went off the road three times," the Irishman said.
Elfyn Evans set the second-fastest time on the section, 17.2 seconds behind Paddon, despite a slow puncture. This moved him up to third in the overall standings, 2.8 seconds behind McErlean after the morning stages.
"It's going to be a tough afternoon where we need to survive," the Welshman assessed.
The second Toyota, driven by Sami Pajari, is 6.5 seconds further back in fourth position, having earlier lost time due to a coolant leak.
M-Sport driver Jon Armstrong looked set to win the third stage until his Ford Puma suffered a puncture. Continuing with the damaged tire led to brake failure and a spin. Armstrong lost almost a minute and a half, dropping to sixth in the overall standings, behind WRC2 leader Diego Dominguez.
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