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| | | Rally Argentina: Loeb takes the victory easily |
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 |  Sebastien Loeb has clinched a fourth consecutive Rally Argentina victory, winning by two and a half minutes from Chris Atkinson.
The world champion hit the front after dominant early leader Mikko Hirvonen broke his suspension on a rock on Friday afternoon.
The Ford driver's retirement handed Loeb (Citroen) a huge advantage over the chasing Subarus, and he was able to drive comfortably through the final days to secure the win and move into the championship lead.
Loeb said he was relieved to have a secure margin over the rest of the field, as he did not enjoy tackling the often very wet stages with the single tyre design mandated under the 2008 rules.
"I had enough of a lead to be very careful," Loeb said. "Luckily we didn't have to push in these conditions, because it was impossible to drive with the tyre we have. There was so much mud."
Petter Solberg had been in line for second until the final morning, when an electrical failure left him stranded in SS19. That elevated his Subaru teammate Chris Atkinson back up to the runner-up spot, and he duly claimed his third podium in four rallies this year.
The Australian admitted that his delight was tempered by his teammate's misfortune.
"I'm disappointed for the team, because we were very excited to have two cars in the top three," Atkinson said. "Second's great, but there's something missing."
Loeb's Citroen teammate Dani Sordo had a quiet run to third place, benefiting from the remarkable attrition that struck the event. The top three were the only World Rally Car drivers not to have a major problem during the weekend.
Those dramas allowed WRC rookie Conrad Rautenbach to take a shock fourth place in his semi-works Citroen, albeit nearly 20 minutes off the pace.
"It's fantastic," said Rautenbach. "We knew it was going to be a very rough rally, so we just tried to get it simple and get the experience, and it paid off."
The attrition also worked in Hirvonen's favour in the end. Despite retiring on Friday afternoon, he was able to salvage fifth place under the Superally system, having rejoined in 23rd on the second day. The Finn was amazed to find himself in the top five.
"I was so disappointed, we were in the lead and were so unlucky with the rock," Hirvonen said. "And now we are here. I didn't even think there was any point in continuing on Saturday morning, we were so far behind.
"It's definitely very good for the championship - Sebastien doesn't get too far away. The fight is still on."
Local driver Federico Villagra was thrilled to finish sixth for Munchi's Ford, despite an error in the final superspecial, with Stobart Ford's Gigi Galli taking seventh via Superally having dropped out of fourth on day two.
With Jari-Matti Latvala retiring due to starter motor problems on Saturday having already lost nine minutes by rolling on Friday, and both Suzukis and Stobart driver Henning Solberg also retiring, the Production class leaders infiltrated the overall top ten. Class winner Andreas Aigner took the final WRC point in eighth.
Leading finishers:
Pos Driver Car Time
1. Loeb Citroen 5h05:48.6
2. Atkinson Subaru + 2:33.2
3. Sordo Citroen + 4:04.7
4. Rautenbach Citroen + 20:03.5
5. Hirvonen Ford + 25:15.3
6. Villagra Ford + 27:42.0
7. Galli Ford + 27:51.8
8. Aigner Mitsubishi + 28:59.3
9. Beltran Mitsubishi + 30:04.9
10. Ketomaa Subaru + 31:52.6 | |
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| | | Rally Argentina: Solberg retires from podium position with 2 stages to go |
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| Petter Solberg has retired from second place in the Rally Argentina with just two stages to go.
Subaru had been set for their first double podium finish since 2003 as Solberg and teammate Chris Atkinson held comfortable second and third places.
But Solberg's car came to a halt halfway through today's first stage. Initial reports suggested that the Impreza had developed electrical problems.
Under the 2008 regulations, cars that retire on the final day cannot participate in the Superally system, so Solberg is now out of the event.
Sebastien Loeb continues to lead for Citroen, with Atkinson now up to second, and Loeb's teammate Dani Sordo elevated to fourth. | |
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| | | Rally Argentina: Loeb close to securing victory |
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| Sebastien Loeb continues to serenely dominate the Rally Argentina as incredible attrition takes its toll on the rest of the field.
The factory Citroens and Subarus are the only World Rally Cars to have got through the first two days without incident or serious delay, and are nearly 15 minutes clear of the chasing pack.
Drivers continued to fall by the wayside throughout this afternoon's loop of stages. Factory Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala and Stobart Ford duo Gigi Galli and Henning Solberg all failed to rejoin following service due to their various morning problems, while Matthew Wilson did not last much longer in the third Stobart entry - retiring from sixth after breaking his suspension in SS15.
Both Suzukis retired for a second consecutive day, with Per-Gunnar Andersson sustaining suspension damage and Toni Gardemeister stopping with hydraulic failure.
Local favourites Munchi's Ford were the other team in trouble. A variety of glitches, including power steering issues and overheating, saw Federico Villagra lose time throughout the afternoon and fall from sixth to eighth, while his teammate Luis Perez Companc has withdrawn from the event due to illness.
As the rest of the WRC pack wilted, Loeb maintained a comfortable lead over Subaru duo Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson, with Dani Sordo a lonely fourth in the second Citroen.
Solberg won three of the afternoon's full-length stages, reducing Loeb's advantage to one minute and twenty seconds and keeping the leader on his toes.
"We are pushing hard because Solberg is pushing," Loeb said. "So we're trying to keep him more than one minute behind for tomorrow. He's a bit too far behind to really put me under pressure, but I have to keep up a good rhythm and not lose any time."
Although the Subaru driver has no expectation of catching Loeb, he was thrilled with his Impreza's performance today.
"There was so much more grip after we left service today," Solberg said. "It's going really well. I'm not pushing, not taking any silly risks."
Teammate Atkinson has also eased off to focus on securing third place.
"We've backed right off now," he said. "There's no need to take any risks. Second would be nice, but three podiums in the first four rallies of the year is still better than we would have expected."
Behind fourth-placed Sordo, Citroen's rookie WRC driver Conrad Rautenbach has risen to fifth thanks to the retirements, despite being 18 minutes behind the leaders.
Works Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen - who dominated day one until breaking his suspension on a rock - rejoined in 23rd under superally rules today, but has already been elevated right up to sixth position as others faltered.
Production class leader Andreas Aigner and the struggling Villagra complete the top eight, with just two full-length stages and another trip to the Cordoba superspecial remaining tomorrow morning.
Leading positions after day two:
Pos Driver Car Time
1. Loeb Citroen 3h28:16.5
2. P Solberg Subaru + 1:19.6
3. Atkinson Subaru + 2:08.5
4. Sordo Citroen + 3:32.3
5. Rautenbach Citroen + 18:00.1
6. Hirvonen Ford + 24:44.5
7. Aigner Mitsubishi + 25:27.2
8. Villagra Ford + 25:53.4
9. Al-Attiyah Subaru + 26:18.3
10. Beltran Mitsubishi + 26:33.9 | |
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| | | Rally Argentina: Latvala and Galli retire |
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| Jari-Matti Latvala and Gigi Galli have both been forced to retire from day two of the Rally Argentina at the midday service.
Works Ford driver Latvala went over the permitted time limit while trying to repair a starter motor problem prior to SS11, while Galli's Stobart car suffered electrical damage at the end of the morning's stages.
Galli was running fourth, fending off Citroen's Dani Sordo, before his car filled with smoke in SS13.
I'm not sure exactly what happened," Galli told the official series website. "But around the first watersplash on SS13 the car's transmission tunnel started to get extremely hot and burn the electronics panel. We had a small spin and damaged the exhaust as well.
"In the middle of the stage I had to open the window because I couldn't breathe - the whole car was full of smoke. There was no fire, but at the end of the stage the marshals fired an extinguisher inside."
Although the Italian eventually managed to get the car back to service, its electrics had been damaged and he had to retire from the leg.
Latvala had been eighth before his problems, having already lost nine minutes by rolling on Friday morning.
He struggled to get his car started for SS11 earlier today and joined the stage out of the position, consequently going over the time limit. Although he was still classified eighth during the morning, he was withdrawn from day two when he returned to service.
The Finn believed damage sustained in this morning's first stage caused the starter problem.
"We had a small impact on the sumpguard, and it seems that it broke the cable for the starter motor, so at the start of the next stage we couldn't get started," Latvala explained.
"We had a lot of work to do. Eventually we got it started, but we were quite late." | |
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| | | Rally Argentina: Loeb extends lead on day 2 |
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| Sebastien Loeb has continued to edge away from the field in the Rally Argentina, while Petter Solberg has passed Subaru teammate Chris Atkinson for second place.
Solberg overcame Atkinson's eight-second overnight advantage by winning today's first stage, while Atkinson lost pace. The Australian was cagey about the exact nature of his issues.
"We can't really go any faster - we had something holding us back," he said at the end of SS11. "It's a small issue that we know about. At the moment I can't fight."
Despite his problems, Atkinson has stayed in touch with Solberg and heads for service just 4.1 seconds behind after winning the morning's final stage.
"It's tough, we want to have two Subarus on the podium," said Atkinson. "It's a fine line that we're walking down at the moment."
One and a half minutes ahead of the battling Subarus, Loeb (Citroen) maintains a comfortable advantage and is still faster than his pursuers - winning two of today's four stages so far.
The world champion was not impressed with the stage conditions though, with more rain having fallen overnight.
"The first stage this morning was terrible," said Loeb. "Very dangerous, a lot of mud, and with hard tyres with no cuts. I was happy to finish that stage. I'm taking no risks, just going through."
Further back, Ford's troubled rally continued as Stobart's Gigi Galli, Munchi's driver Federico Villagra and factory driver Jari-Matti Latvala all struck problems during the morning.
Galli has been embroiled in a tight battle for fourth with Citroen's Dani Sordo, and is currently just three seconds ahead. But the Italian arrived at the final time control with smoke pouring from the front of his Focus. He is currently attempting to get the car back to service.
Latvala's recovery drive took another blow when starter motor problems delayed him prior to stage 11. He is still eighth, but is now running out of position.
The most bizarre problem befell Villagra, who had to tie his throttle pedal to his foot to ensure he could close it after a problem within the mechanism.
"I think something like a spring inside broke," he explained. "I had to take the stages very slowly, but it works."
The unusual glitch has dropped Villagra to seventh, behind Stobart Ford's Matthew Wilson.
Leading positions after SS13:
Pos Driver Car Time
1. Loeb Citroen 2h41:05.4
2. P Solberg Subaru + 1:32.4
3. Atkinson Subaru + 1:36.5
4. Galli Ford + 2:46.8
5. Sordo Citroen + 2:49.5
6. Wilson Ford + 9:01.1
7. Villagra Ford + 9:59.5
8. Latvala Ford + 10:10.3
9. Rautenbach Citroen + 14:36.9
10. Aigner Mitsubishi + 18:54.3 | |
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| | | Rally Argentina: Loeb clear after day 1 |
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| Sebastien Loeb is now over one and a half minutes clear of the field in the Rally Argentina after day one of the event.
The reigning champion was handed the lead when Mikko Hirvonen broke his Ford's suspension in the first of this afternoon's stages, and was able to edge away as conditions improved following the rain and fog of the morning.
Second-placed Chris Atkinson matched Loeb's pace at first and was able to remain within 50 seconds of the leader. But two spins in the day's final full-length stage cost the Subaru driver 40 seconds.
Although Atkinson was able to rejoin and hold on to second place, he is now just eight seconds ahead of teammate Petter Solberg, who has struggled with damper problems throughout the second loop of stages.
As Solberg's pace slowed, he looked set to lose third to Citroen's Dani Sordo, but the Spaniard also hit trouble in SS8, losing half a minute with a steering issue.
That dropped Sordo to fifth, as Stobart Ford's Gigi Galli set an impressive third-fastest stage time - bringing him past Sordo and onto Solberg's tail. Second to fifth places are now covered by just 36 seconds.
Local favourite Federico Villagra continues to hold an excellent sixth place for Munchi's Ford, to the delight of the home crowd. His position is fully deserved, for most of the afternoon's retirements were running behind Villagra when they stopped.
Henning Solberg (Stobart Ford) and Toni Gardemeister (Suzuki) joined the casualty list when they broke their suspension on rocks in SS5 and SS8 respectively. Their departures mean that Solberg's teammate Matthew Wilson has moved up to seventh, and factory Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala has already been elevated to a point-scoring eighth place despite losing nine minutes when he rolled early in the event.
Citroen WRC rookie Conrad Rautenbach and Production class leader Andreas Aigner complete the top ten at the end of the day one.
Hirvonen is expected to rejoin under superally rules tomorrow - along with Henning Solberg and the Suzukis - but will be classified 23 minutes behind Loeb.
Leading positions after SS9:
Pos Driver Car Time
1. Loeb Citroen 1h54:28.0
2. Atkinson Subaru + 1:30.6
3. P Solberg Subaru + 1:38.9
4. Galli Ford + 1:47.7
5. Sordo Citroen + 2:06.9
6. Villagra Ford + 4:48.3
7. Wilson Ford + 6:18.3
8. Latvala Ford + 9:27.5
9. Rautenbach Citroen + 10:31.8
10. Aigner Mitsubishi + 12:21.0 | |
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| | | Loeb takes Maradona for a spin |
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| Football legend Diego Maradona got a taste of rally co-driving when he sat alongside Sebastien Loeb during the Rally Argentina shakedown.
Citroen invited Maradona to take the co-driver's seat for one run through the 4.59-kilometre shakedown stage on Thursday evening - to the delight of the hundreds of Argentine soccer fans who heard about their hero's surprise appearance and rush to the service area to catch a glimpse.
"It was fantastic," said Maradona, who donned Citroen overalls and a helmet in Loeb's colours for his trip. "This guy makes it so easy to just enjoy the ride. I knew he was good, but now I know he's fantastic.
"He made me feel comfortable and I had no fears knowing what he was doing. You can see even when he breathes he's a real world champion - and when you look at his eyes you know he's really good."
Loeb was delighted to give Maradona a chance to sample the World Rally Championship, although he admitted that the language barrier had been a bit of a problem.
"I think he had a good time," said Loeb. "We couldn't say too much because he doesn't speak French and I don't speak Spanish, but we communicated the best we could, and once we were on the stage it was a lot of fun." | |
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| | | Rally Argentina: Hirvonen retires gifting Loeb lead |
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| Rally leader Mikko Hirvonen has retired from the Rally Argentina after damaging his suspension in SS5.
The Ford driver had dominated the opening stages of the event, and was 50 seconds clear of Sebastien Loeb by lunchtime service.
But he hit a rock in the first stage of this afternoon's loop, breaking his suspension and forcing him to retire from day one.
Hirvonen's misfortune puts his title rival Loeb into the rally lead, ahead of Subaru's Chris Atkinson and Petter Solberg.
With Stobart Ford's Henning Solberg also stopping with suspension damage in the stage, it has been a bad afternoon for Ford so far. Their second works driver Jari-Matti Latvala had earlier dropped from second to 21st after rolling during the morning.
Loeb now has a 55-second lead at the head of the field, but the Citroen driver remains cautious.
"For sure it looks much more comfortable for me now," he told World Rally Radio. "But I don't like to take the lead like this, I'd prefer to fight and really be in a battle." | |
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| | | Rally Argentina: Hirvonen dominates so far |
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| Mikko Hirvonen has dominated the first morning of the Rally Argentina and already leads by 50 seconds in the very difficult conditions.
Rain and fog have hampered the drivers in the rally's opening four stages, but Hirvonen fared much better than the chasing pack.
The Ford driver was a huge 48 seconds quicker than the rest of the field through SS1, and has maintained a similar advantage throughout the first loop of stages.
World champion Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) trails Hirvonen by 50.8 seconds at present, having already had a quick spin. He gained second place when Hirvonen's teammate Jari-Matti Latvala rolled off the road and lost nine minutes in SS2.
Latvala was able to rejoin with only superficial damage, and began his recovery by winning SS3. However he then sustained more suspension damage in the next stage and dropped another 25 seconds.
The two Subarus have made a promising start to the rally and are currently third and fourth. Chris Atkinson has already dropped one and a half minutes behind Hirvonen, but is 30 seconds clear of his fourth-placed teammate Petter Solberg.
Stobart Ford's Gigi Galli established himself in fifth position early on, and has so far managed to fend off the chasing Dani Sordo (Citroen). The Spaniard was second-fastest to Hirvonen through SS4 and now just 3.2 seconds behind Galli.
Galli's teammate Henning Solberg struggled for confidence when the fog was at its most severe early on, but as visibility improved, so did the Norweigan's pace.
He was third fastest in SS4 and has progressed to eighth place, closing to within 5.8 seconds of seventh-placed Federico Villagra (Munchi's Ford). The local driver has made a very promising start to his home event, and has run in the points all morning.
Suzuki's rally got off to a worrying beginning when Per-Gunnar Andersson's car failed on the road section prior to the first stage. The team were waiting for the car to return to service before diagnosing the problem.
Andersson's teammate Toni Gardemeister is still running and currently holds ninth, ahead of Stobart Ford's Matthew Wilson.
Pos Driver Car Time
1. Hirvonen Ford 55:54.1
2. Loeb Citroen + 50.8
3. Atkinson Subaru +1:33.8
4. P Solberg Subaru +2:03.9
5. Galli Ford +2:15.8
6. Sordo Citroen +2:19.0
7. Villagra Ford +3:45.8
8. H Solberg Ford +3:51.6
9. Gardemeister Suzuki +4:18.3
10. Wilson Ford +4:33.9 | |
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| | | Rally Argentina: Latvala looses time rolling on Stage 2 |
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| Jari-Matti Latvala has lost nine minutes after rolling in the second stage of the Rally Argentina.
The Ford driver was running second behind teammate Mikko Hirvonen in the very wet and foggy conditions, but has now dropped outside the top ten.
"Two kilometres into the second stage, on a flat left corner, I just went a bit wide, hit the bank, it moved the car in the other direction and we rolled off the road at the next corner, down a little drop," Latvala told World Rally Radio.
"But then I realised there were spectators there (to help), so we got the car back on its wheels and we found a way back on the road. Luckily there is not so much damage on the car - only the windscreen and some cosmetic damage. Otherwise everything is okay.
"Unfortunately I made a mistake, but it happens in rallying."
Hirvonen has dominated the opening stages, and currently holds a 52-second lead over Sebastien Loeb (Citroen), with Subaru's Chris Atkinson currently in third. | |
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| | | Equality for drivers wanted by Gronholm |
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| Former double world rally champion Marcus Gronholm believes Ford should give Jari-Matti Latvala equal status in the team and allow him to fight for the World Rally Championship this season.
Latvala took his maiden win in Rally Sweden in February and lies just five points behind team leader Mikko Hirvonen and four behind reigning champion Sebastien Loeb.
"Mikko is in a difficult position now," Gronholm told this week's Autosport. "He thought his was the number one but Jari-Matti has come along and driven at the same speed as him.
"For the moment, I don't think Malcolm (Wilson, team principal) has anything to worry about. He can let the boys go off and drive, but there's no need to keep Mikko number one when they can be at the same level.
"One thing is clear, though, it seems they don't need me any more."
Ford team boss Wilson told Autosport that Latvala's progression has surprised him, but there won't be a switch in the team's focus.
"We all knew about his speed, but the way he's developed is amazing. He's doing now what I hoped he'd be doing in the second half of the season.
"But we know what Mikko can do for us, he's done an incredible job for this team. He's going to want to go and push in Argentina this weekend but it could be tough for him to run first on the road again.
"He just has to get on with it. With these rule changes running first is part of the learning curve. He knows what he's got to do, he's got to accept it and raise his game." | |
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