Paraguayan rally driver Andrea Lafarja finished fourth in the 2026 WRC Masters Cup season with 75 points. She earned five podium finishes across the season, placing third in Kenya, Spain, Japan, Greece and Paraguay. The result made Lafarja the highest-ranked woman in the final WRC Masters Cup standings. She also became the first Paraguayan woman to compete in a full World Rally Championship season.
Five podiums define her season
Lafarja opened her campaign with a third-place finish at the Safari Rally Kenya in March. She then repeated the result at Rally Islas Canarias, Rally Japan, Rally Greece and Rally del Paraguay. Each podium contributed 15 points to her final total, adding to her total amount of 75 points and fourth place in the WRC Masters Cup.
The consistency kept Lafarja among the leading drivers in the WRC Masters Cup throughout the season. Mexico’s Miguel Granados won the category with 117 points, followed by Austria’s Johannes Keferböck with 109. Türkiye’s Uğur Soylu finished third with 88 points, while Lafarja completed the top four.
A historic home podium
Her final podium came at the Rally del Paraguay in August, when Lafarja and co-driver Germán Maune finished third in the WRC Masters Cup. Competing on home roads in Itapúa, the pair brought their Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 to another podium finish. The result gave Paraguay a historic moment at its home World Rally Championship event.
The home result followed another landmark performance in Kenya. There, Lafarja became the first Paraguayan woman to reach a WRC podium after finishing third in the WRC Masters Cup. She continued that momentum throughout the season, adding three more podiums before returning to Paraguay.
From Dakar to the WRC
Lafarja entered the World Rally Championship season with years of rally experience behind her. She has competed in the Dakar Rally three times and finished as a finalist, while also winning the Chaco Rally twice. Those achievements established her as one of Paraguay’s most prominent rally drivers before her move to the world championship.
The 2026 campaign marked a new stage in that career. Lafarja joined MSi Racing Team, based in Madrid, and competed in the WRC Masters Cup and WRC2 Challenger categories with a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. Before the season began, she also received the Paraguay Country Brand Ambassador licence for her role in representing the country internationally.
A new benchmark for Paraguayan motorsport
Lafarja’s fourth-place finish gives Paraguay another notable result on the international rally stage. More importantly, her five podiums show the consistency behind her first full WRC campaign. Her season also placed a Paraguayan woman among the four highest-scoring drivers in the WRC Masters Cup.
From the opening stages in Kenya to the home crowd in Itapúa, Lafarja’s campaign combined experience, consistency and historic firsts. Her 75-point season now adds another chapter to a career that has taken Paraguayan motorsport to increasingly prominent international stages.
