The participation of driver Andrea Lafarja as the first Paraguayan woman to compete in a full season of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) was officially announced at a press conference held at the Paraguayan Olympic Committee. This development represents an unprecedented milestone for national motorsport.
Who is Andrea Lafarja?
With three successful participations in the Dakar Rally, where she finished as a finalist, and two titles in the Chaco Rally, Lafarja has established herself as a leading figure in Paraguayan motorsports. Now she will be the only woman in the World Rally Championship, and the first Paraguayan and Latin American representative in that category.
She will compete in seven rounds of the championship, starting with the legendary Safari Rally in Kenya in March 2026, and finishing in Saudi Arabia in November 2026.
“Raising my country’s flag high”
During the ceremony, Lafarja was formally recognised as a Country Brand Ambassador, acknowledging her pioneering achievements as the first Paraguayan to contest a complete WRC season and her prominent role in elevating Paraguayan motorsport on the global stage.
Expressing her enthusiasm for the new role, Andrea Lafarja said: “For me, it is an honour to represent Paraguay. When I go abroad, I do not care if they remember my name; what matters to me is that they remember where I am from, that they say ‘the Paraguayan woman,’ and that I raise my country’s flag high.”
Honour as country brand ambassador
Javier Viveros, Vice Minister of Rediex, presented Lafarja with the official Country Brand Ambassador licence. He stated: “Today we announce that a strong and capable woman is joining the Country Brand team as an ambassador. The country brand represents the strategy our country uses to communicate with the world, and motorsports has recently been a very important platform for positioning Paraguay.”
Viveros also highlighted that the FIA recently named the 2025 Rally of Paraguay as the best event in the world.
Competition schedule and categories
Lafarja will compete in the WRC Masters Cup and WRC2 Challenger categories, driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 across seven events on the world calendar:
- Kenya: 12–15 March 2026;
- Spain: 23–26 April 2026;
- Greece: 25–28 June 2026;
- Paraguay: 27–30 August 2026;
- Chile: 10–13 September 2026;
- Italy: 1–4 October 2026;
- Saudi Arabia: 11–14 November 2026.
A historic milestone for Paraguay
Lafarja’s participation not only marks a historic achievement for Paraguayan sport, but also serves to project the nation prominently on the international stage. This comes ahead of Paraguay’s hosting of a full World Rally Championship round in 2026, further consolidating its growing reputation in global motorsport.
Follow the next steps for Andrea Lafarja on Instagram.
