Encarnación, Paraguay, September 1, 2026: Indian rally duo Naveen Puligilla and co-driver Musa Sherif produced a remarkable recovery at the Rally del Paraguay to finish third in WRC3, securing their third consecutive FIA World Rally Championship class podium.

Driving a Ford Fiesta Rally3 for Duran Racing, Naveen and Musa completed the 11th round of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship in 5 hours, 10 minutes and 54.9 seconds, including penalty times. The Rally del Paraguay featured 22 Special Stages covering 357.64 km of demanding red-gravel terrain.

Of the 58 cars entered across all classes, only 44 completed the rally.

Dramatic recovery after early setback

The WRC3 podium was particularly impressive given the difficulties faced by the Indian pairing early in the rally.

Naveen and Musa went off the road during Special Stage 3 on Friday, forcing them to miss six stages and incur penalties. The Duran Racing duo responded strongly on Saturday, steadily climbing the WRC3 classification with a series of competitive stage times from SS10 onwards.

Their challenge was complicated further by a 15-minute penalty following a turbo change, but the Indian crew continued their fight through to the final day.

Naveen delivered a particularly strong performance on Sunday, producing a blistering run through the short SS20 before finishing second in WRC3 on the final Power Stage, SS22. They ended the rally third in class, behind WRC3 winners Nataniel Bruun of Bolivia and co-driver Mario Javier.

Third WRC3 podium in a row

The Paraguay result completes a remarkable run of three successive WRC3 podiums for Naveen and Musa.

The duo finished second at the season-ending Rally Saudi Arabia in November 2025, a result that made Naveen the first Indian driver to secure a WRC class podium. Naveen and Musa also became the first all-Indian driver-co-driver pairing to achieve a WRC podium.

They followed that historic result by finishing third at the Safari Rally Kenya in March 2026.

Their third-place finish in Paraguay now gives the Indian pairing a hat-trick of WRC3 podiums.

Naveen proud to represent India

Reflecting on the result, Naveen Puligilla said the team remained focused despite the setbacks they encountered during the rally.

“We are absolutely thrilled with this result. Despite the ups and downs, we stayed focused and fought till the very end. To stand on the podium holding the Indian flag is a very proud moment.”

Naveen is supported by Ashya Group and Yula Globus.

Musa Sherif, one of India’s most experienced rally co-drivers, said the three rallies had presented very different challenges.

The eight-time Indian National Rally co-driver champion has 35 years of experience and more than 350 rallies to his credit. He highlighted the contrasting conditions in Saudi Arabia, Kenya and Paraguay, describing three consecutive podiums at WRC level as a special achievement.

Rally Chile next for Indian WRC duo

Naveen made his international rally debut in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship in New Zealand in 2024 before joining Musa on the WRC stage at Rally Kenya in 2025.

The Indian duo will now turn their attention to Rally Chile, the 12th round of the FIA World Rally Championship, scheduled to take place from September 10 to 13, 2026.

With three WRC3 podiums now secured in succession, Naveen Puligilla and Musa Sherif will look to continue their impressive international campaign in Chile.