Takamoto Katsuta tops shakedown test at WRC Rally del Paraguay
27th August 2026Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta was fastest in the World Rally Championship’s shakedown test ahead of the Rally del Paraguay, beating the trio of Hyundais.
Feature image credit: Jaanus Ree // Red Bull Content Pool
The WRC got underway with a taster of the weekend on Thursday morning, local time, with a short 5.6km sprint of Shakedown, ahead of Friday’s official start.
Elfyn Evans – as the championship leader – was the first to brave the red gravel course ahead of his championship rivals, Sami Pajari and Takamoto Katsuta, and the Welsh points leader would naturally set the benchmark for those around him to beat.
However, after the first passes of shakedown, it was Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville who stood fastest overall with a time of three minutes and 3.6 seconds.
One second quicker than his French teammate, Adrien Fourmaux, who finished second in the first pass. Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier rounded out the top three in the shakedown’s first run, in third.
It wouldn’t be until the final run – which some drivers did not complete – that the Hyundais would be beaten.
Katsuta went on to post the top time on the final run, a two-minute and 59.5-second sprint. He narrowly pipped Hyundai’s Hayden Paddon, who climbed up to second overall, 1.6 seconds adrift, with Neuville remaining amongst the top three, improving his time to 3m 1.1s – tying with the trio of Hyundais.
However, it wasn’t a clean run for all, as M-Sport’s Joshua McErlean had a moment in the first pass, sliding his car wide mid-stage. Onboards saw the Irishman correct his Puma, forcing him to look out the side window as he continued.
So, how did everyone finish in the Shakedown with their best time?
Shakedown results
- Takamoto Katsuta, Toyota – 2m 59.5s
- Hayden Paddon, Hyundai – 3m 1.1s
- Thierry Neuville, Hyundai – 3m 1.1s
- Adrien Fourmaux, Hyundai – 3m 1.1s
- Elfyn Evans, Toyota – 3m 1.2s
- Jon Armstrong, M-Sport Ford – 3m 1.8s
- Joshu McErlean, M-Sport Ford – 3m 2.6s
- Oliver Solberg, Toyota – 3m 2.6s
- Sami Pajari, Toyota – 3m 2.8s
- Sebastien Ogier, Toyota – 3m 4.6s
The first meaningful test of Rally Paraguay will take place on Friday morning, starting at 09:03am local time, with the 24.65km Cambyreta stage.
Read more WRC here:
- Rally del Paraguay: Full WRC stage times and guide
- FIA conclude Rally Scotland WRC candidate event
- 2026 Czech Rally: Full ERC stage guide and times
- Rally Paraguay: full WRC Rally1 entry list
- FIA give September deadline for WRC Saudi Arabia finale
- Sebastien Ogier confirms attendance in remaining WRC rallies
- Sebastien Ogier gives update after Rally Finland crash
- Pajari takes over Rally Finland after Ogier suffers big crash
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
