Paraguay has begun the countdown to kick off this Thursday the tenth round of the World Rally Championship (WRC). The competition is the “tremendous challenge” of hosting an event that will feature 48 drivers and will run over more than 1,000 kilometers in the red lands of the Itapúa department (south).
“The challenge is tremendous, but the desire and, above all, what we are seeing in terms of results, is something fantastic for our country,” said the Vice Minister of Communication, Alejandra Duarte, in an interview with EFE.
After concluding the organization of the II Junior Pan American Games ASU2025, which brought together 4,000 athletes from 41 countries between August 9 and 23, the country now fully enters the international motorsport map with the Rally, which will take place from August 28 to 31, to round off a month entirely dedicated to sport.
Duarte explained that the inauguration of the event, which will be held this Thursday, will have activities in the Sambódromo with a sample of the carnival of the city of Encarnación, capital of Itapúa, prepared for the attendees. The presentation of the vehicles that will compete in the competition, and a musical concert will also take place.
“We want everyone to participate, and above all, for Paraguayans to be able to cheer on their drivers and take advantage of seeing all the best in the world,” said the official.
More Read
The 48 pilots, of whom 21 are Paraguayan and 27 are foreign, will race a total of 1002.59 kilometers, divided into 333.18 kilometers of special stages and 669.41 kilometers of links.
The competition, which will officially begin this Friday, will have Encarnación as its headquarters and will cross the towns of Cambyretá, Nueva Alborada, Carmen del Paraná, San Juan del Paraná, Fram, Artigas, Coronel Bogado, Capitán Miranda, Trinidad, and the United Colonies (Bella Vista, Hohenau and Obligado).
In the main class, Rally 1 cars, the event will feature figures such as the current world champion, Belgian Thierry Neuville, who will represent Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, based in Germany, among other top-level personalities in that specialty and those of Rally 2, Rally 3 and RC4.
More Read
The Paraguayan credit will be in the name of Diego Domínguez Jr. (current WRC3 champion), Fabrizio Zaldívar (two-time FIA-CODASUR champion) and Agustín Alonso (last Paraguayan National champion).
“Diego Domínguez is one of the biggest figures we have as a country, and there is a tremendous expectation as a country,” the vice minister pointed out.
Twenty institutions worked on the coordination of the event, for which the Police have arranged the deployment of 5,000 officers. In turn, the Armed Forces will mobilize a total of 3,000 uniformed personnel.
Regarding the point, Duarte highlighted that Paraguayans are accustomed to experiencing the Rally differently.
But, “as we have the World Cup, we have to be very clear about the safety rules that the organization sets for us to be able to see the entire sporting event behind the green tape,” he warned.
Security efforts to protect citizens will seek to make the competition “a celebration”, but at the same time a spectacle that “also has to be quite safe”.
More Read
A legacy
Duarte highlighted that the Government of President Santiago Peña has bet that the Rally is not considered only a sporting activity, but an opportunity to “grow economically in every way”, and that mega-events are not only held in Asunción, the capital of the country, but also in the regions.
In that sense, he explained that a state investment of 33 million dollars was made in various infrastructures in Itapúa, including the ‘Gran Hospital del Sur’ of Encarnación and at the airport, which now has international status.
The official considers this a “win-win” process, and an opportunity to host this competition for three years. EFE
PBD-ja/lb/sms
(photo) (video)
The EFE Agency had the support of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (MITIC) for the dissemination of this content.
