The first-ever World Rally Championship in Paraguay concluded this Sunday with an impressive awards ceremony held at the Jesuit Reductions of Trinidad. France’s Sébastien Ogier secured victory in the main category. President Santiago Peña attended the ceremony, presenting the winners of the main WRC Rally of Paraguay category with handcrafted kambuchi trophies.
A kambuchi is a traditional Paraguayan clay vessel and the WRC winners’ trophy is a kambuchi designed by artisan Sandra Ortega and her family. The trophy is styled to resemble a rally driver’s helmet, blending tradition with contemporary artistry.
Ogier’s Victory
Standing atop the podium, champion Ogier highlighted the challenging nature of the rally, expressing pride in his performance. “We never gave up, we kept giving our all on every stage, and we enjoyed it immensely,” he stated, alongside his co-driver Vincent Landais.
Ogier acknowledged the rally’s organisation, describing the inaugural event as “a complete success”. Landais also highlighted the energy and atmosphere generated by the Paraguayan fans, characterising each stage as “challenging and at times unpredictable”.
Reactions from competitors
Elfyn Evans, the rally’s runner-up, also noted the event’s difficulty, stating it was “much harder than we anticipated in the shakedown”. Thierry Neuville, who secured third place, expressed gratitude for the extraordinary atmosphere created by Paraguayan supporters.
Juha Kankkunen, the main representative of the winning Toyota team, described the race as extraordinary, remaining undecided until the final stage. “To the organisers, I must say that everything was really well organised, everything always on time, so thank you very much to everyone,” he added.
Swedish winner in the WRC2 category
Swedish driver Oliver Solberg, who won the hearts of Paraguayan fans with his charisma, was crowned the winner of the WRC2 category of the WRC Rally of Paraguay, completing the final stage in the town of Trinidad, Itapúa department, with the fastest time on Sunday.
Solberg was able to crown an incomparable race in Paraguay in this way, where in addition to achieving an exceptional connection with the local crowd, he was able to fulfill his promise of presenting the trophy to his co-pilot, Elliot Edmonson, who celebrated his birthday during the rally.
“Thank you so much to all the fans in Paraguay. This has been one of the most incredible weeks, with so many passionate fans, so thank you so much,” the driver said upon completing the race.
In the WRC2 category, Solberg and Frenchman Yohan Rossel and Russian Nikolai Gryazin secured a podium spot, finishing second and third respectively.
Local driver living his dream
Fourth in this category was Paraguayan Fabrizio Zaldivar, who, despite not achieving a podium spot, celebrated having fulfilled his dream of competing in a World Rally in Paraguay. To follow his racing journey find Fabrizio Zaldivar on Instagram.
