Elfyn Evans has issued a revealing warning ahead of the 2026 WRC ueno Rally del Paraguay, admitting that his first experience of the South American event in 2025 completely changed his perception of what looked, on paper, like a relatively straightforward gravel rally.

The Welshman’s assessment comes as the FIA World Rally Championship returns to Paraguay for the second time, with the event taking place from August 27–30, 2026, and Evans arriving as the championship leader for Toyota Gazoo Racing.

What makes his comments particularly significant is that Evans is not speaking from theory.

He has already experienced the combination of polished clay, unpredictable grip, loose gravel, sharp rocks, changing weather and extremely low traction that made Paraguay one of the most difficult surprises of the 2025 season.

And this time, he knows exactly what is waiting for him.

Elfyn Evans: Paraguay Was Much Harder Than It Looked

When the Rally del Paraguay made its WRC debut in 2025, the stages initially appeared deceptively simple.

There were long straights, junctions and fast sections that could easily give the impression that drivers would be able to settle into a rhythm and attack the roads with confidence.

Evans quickly discovered that the reality was very different.

Ahead of the 2026 event, Evans explained that the first Paraguayan rally had been far more challenging than everyone expected.

His explanation was brutally simple: the surface did not behave the way the stages appeared to suggest.

On paper, the roads looked relatively straightforward. Behind the wheel, however, the polished clay surface created highly inconsistent grip levels, making it difficult for drivers to judge how aggressively they could attack each corner.

That distinction could prove crucial again in 2026.

Rallying is not simply about how fast a road looks.

It is about how much confidence a driver can have in the surface beneath the car.

In Paraguay, that confidence can disappear almost instantly.

The Surface That Changed Everything

The biggest lesson Evans took from 2025 was the behavior of the Paraguayan clay.

The surface could become heavily polished by repeated passes, reducing grip and making the car feel unpredictable.

Evans had already warned during the opening day of the 2025 rally that grip levels were highly changeable and generally low, while the hard-packed clay made it difficult to develop a consistent feeling with the car.

That is an especially serious problem for a Rally1 driver.

At the highest level of the WRC, drivers depend on confidence.

They need to know how aggressively they can brake, how much speed they can carry into a corner and how much throttle they can apply on exit.

When the grip changes unexpectedly, every one of those calculations becomes more difficult.

A road that looks fast can therefore become more dangerous than a visibly rough stage.

That is precisely why Evans’ experience from 2025 matters so much.

He is no longer approaching Paraguay as an unknown.

He knows that the apparent simplicity of the stages can be misleading.

Rain Could Turn Paraguay Into a Lottery

If the clay surface was difficult enough in dry conditions, the arrival of rain created an entirely different problem.

Evans specifically highlighted the final-morning rain from the 2025 rally as one of the factors that made the conditions extremely difficult.

According to the Toyota driver, grip became so limited that the rally could quickly turn into something resembling a lottery.

That creates an unusual strategic situation for a championship leader.

Normally, rain on a gravel rally can help a driver running first on the road because moisture can reduce the disadvantage of sweeping loose gravel away from the racing line.

But Evans pointed out that when the surface already has extremely low grip, the situation becomes much less predictable.

A little rain can potentially help.

Too much rain can make the entire road difficult to read.

That fine line could once again become one of the defining stories of WRC Paraguay 2026.

Evans Has Already Survived the Worst-Case Scenario

There is another reason the 2025 experience could prove valuable.

Evans did not simply participate in Paraguay’s inaugural WRC event.

He finished second overall.

The result was achieved despite the difficulties he encountered throughout the weekend, including struggling to find the ideal feeling with the car on some of the more technical sections.

Sébastien Ogier won the event for Toyota, while Evans and Scott Martin secured second place.

The final classification showed just how competitive the rally had been.

Ogier finished in 3:00:06.6, with Evans only 26.2 seconds behind, while Thierry Neuville completed the podium a further second behind Evans.

For Evans, the result was important not simply because of the points.

It demonstrated that surviving Paraguay could be just as important as setting spectacular stage times.

The Welshman ultimately described the rally as much more difficult than anticipated, making the second-place finish particularly valuable.

The Moment That Could Have Changed Everything

Even after managing to reach the podium, Evans’ 2025 weekend was far from comfortable.

On the final morning, he admitted he had been fortunate to escape a moment during the opening stage.

That detail is easy to overlook when looking at the final results.

Second place makes the weekend appear controlled.

The reality was much more complicated.

A small mistake at the wrong moment could have transformed a strong championship result into a major setback.

Instead, Evans recovered, maintained his position and ultimately gained second place.

That experience reinforces the central lesson he is carrying into 2026:

Paraguay rewards control as much as outright speed.

Why 2026 Could Be Even More Important for Evans

The stakes are significantly higher this time.

Toyota enters the 2026 ueno Rally del Paraguay with a major opportunity in the manufacturers’ championship.

According to Toyota Gazoo Racing, the team has built a 174-point advantage over Hyundai after the opening 10 rounds and can secure the manufacturers’ title in Paraguay if it extends that advantage by at least six points.

Evans also enters the rally in an extremely strong championship position.

He remains the drivers’ championship leader, with his advantage increasing to 30 points after the previous two rounds in Estonia and Finland.

That changes the calculation.

Evans does not need to prove that he can drive flat-out through every Paraguayan stage.

He needs to maximize points while avoiding unnecessary risks.

In a rally where grip can disappear unexpectedly, that distinction could become decisive.

Toyota Has Strength in Numbers

The pressure on Evans will also exist within his own team.

Toyota has all five of its drivers occupying the top five positions in the 2026 drivers’ championship, an extraordinary level of dominance heading into Paraguay.

The manufacturer has also won nine of the first 10 rallies of the season, putting the team in an exceptionally strong position before the South American gravel double-header.

For Evans, however, team strength does not make the rally itself easier.

The competition remains intense.

Sami Pajari arrives as his nearest championship challenger after taking his first two WRC victories in Estonia and Finland.

Sébastien Ogier also remains a major threat, particularly after demonstrating in 2025 that experience and precision could be extremely valuable in Paraguay.

The possibility of another Toyota victory is therefore high, but nothing about the rally guarantees it.

The 2025 Result Proved One Thing

Perhaps the most important lesson from the inaugural Paraguay rally was how quickly the competitive order could change.

Ogier suffered tyre damage early in the event and dropped significant time, yet recovered to win.

Evans struggled to find the ideal feeling but stayed out of trouble and climbed to second.

Kalle Rovanperä experienced his own difficulties before finishing fifth.

Takamoto Katsuta encountered major trouble, while several other crews suffered from the demanding conditions.

That volatility is exactly what makes Paraguay fascinating.

A driver can look comfortable on one stage and suddenly lose time on another.

A setup change can improve confidence in one type of section but compromise the car elsewhere.

Rain can transform the surface.

Road position can become critical.

And a single puncture or mistake can completely rewrite the classification.

The Roads May Look Fast — But That Is the Trap

The phrase “don’t let appearances deceive you” fits Paraguay particularly well.

The visual impression of a rally stage can be misleading.

Long straights suggest speed.

Wide sections suggest confidence.

Smooth-looking clay suggests stability.

But beneath those appearances is a surface capable of changing dramatically from one section to the next.

Evans’ experience confirms that the challenge is not necessarily identifying where the road is difficult.

The challenge is recognizing that a seemingly easy section may become difficult the moment the grip changes.

That is why the WRC Rally Paraguay 2026 is likely to demand patience from the championship leader.

Evans’ Advantage Is Experience

One major difference between 2025 and 2026 is knowledge.

Last year, everyone was discovering Paraguay.

This year, Evans and his Toyota team have real-world data from the event.

They know the character of the roads.

They know how the clay behaves.

They know how quickly conditions can change.

They know that rain can completely alter the balance of the rally.

And Evans knows exactly how quickly a seemingly manageable stage can become difficult.

That experience could be worth more than raw pace.

The Welshman enters the rally knowing that he does not have to be surprised by Paraguay again.

The Championship Leader’s Real Challenge

For Evans, the challenge may ultimately be psychological as much as technical.

He is leading the championship.

He has a 30-point advantage.

Toyota has a commanding manufacturers’ lead.

And the team is chasing another victory in Paraguay.

That creates enormous incentive to score heavily.

But Paraguay is not a rally where unnecessary aggression is likely to be rewarded consistently.

The conditions demand adaptability.

The surface demands precision.

The weather demands patience.

And the championship demands discipline.

Evans has already learned those lessons the hard way.

“We’ll Just Have to Do Our Best”

Despite the warnings, Evans is not approaching Paraguay with fear.

His message is more measured.

He understands the potential problems, but he also understands that no driver can control the weather or guarantee perfect grip.

His conclusion was therefore characteristically pragmatic: the team will have to do its best regardless of what conditions arrive.

That attitude could be particularly important over a rally where conditions may change faster than predictions suggest.

The goal is not to eliminate every risk.

The goal is to recognize the risks before they become mistakes.

What To Watch For in WRC Paraguay 2026

The Elfyn Evans Paraguay warning is therefore more than a dramatic headline.

It reflects a genuine lesson from the inaugural event.

The 2026 rally begins on August 27 and runs through August 30 as Round 11 of the FIA World Rally Championship, with Encarnación again serving as the rally base.

The official WRC description emphasizes the same fundamental challenge: crews that learn quickly and remain flexible should have the advantage, while those who underestimate the conditions risk paying the price.

For Evans, that message is already familiar.

He has seen the polished clay.

He has experienced the inconsistent grip.

He has driven through the rain.

He has survived the moments when Paraguay stopped looking simple.

And now he returns as the 2026 WRC championship leader, with much more at stake than simply winning another rally.

Final Verdict: Paraguay Has Already Changed Evans’ Approach

The biggest takeaway from Evans’ comments is that WRC Paraguay cannot be judged by appearances alone.

What looks like a fast and straightforward gravel rally can quickly become a test of car control, tyre management, road position, setup and mental discipline.

Evans learned that in 2025.

He arrived with limited knowledge of the event and left with a second-place finish — but also with a much clearer understanding of why Paraguay had been so difficult.

Now he returns with that knowledge.

The question is whether experience will allow him to turn caution into another major championship result.

With Toyota chasing another victory, Evans leading the drivers’ standings and the manufacturer potentially able to secure the constructors’ crown, the pressure could hardly be higher.

And if the Paraguayan weather once again decides to play its part, the lesson Evans learned last year may become one of his greatest advantages.