Thursday Evening SS1: Ogier sets early pace in Argentina
Sebastien Ogier was the early leader of XION Rally Argentina after winning Thursday nigh''s curtain-raising super special stage in Merlo.
Huge crowds packed the town centre as the rally visited there for the first time and they watched Ogier's Volkswagen Polo R outpace team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen and Citroen's Kris Meeke by two-tenths of a second.
"It's going to be a long weekend with some very tough stages but that’s the same for everyone," said the Frenchman.
Jari-Matti Latvala was just a tenth further back in fourth with Hyundai team-mates Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville completing the top six in their i20 World Rally Cars. Just 1.1sec split the sextet.
Conditions were slippery in the mixed surface test with hanging dust adding an extra challenge for drivers.
None of the top competitors had any issues, but WRC 2 front-runner Nicolas Fuchs suffered water pump problems in his Ford Fiesta R5 on the liaison section to the stage and reported high engine temperatures following the test.
Drivers had a marathon 233km link section back to the rally base in Villa Carlos Paz for the overnight halt. They restart at 06.30 tomorrow for two identical loops of two stages before a super special near the town, a total of 149.44km of competition.
click:
wrc.com/argentina-ss1/
-------------------------------------
Friday
SS2: Meeke leads after dramatic opener
Kris Meeke was the surprise leader of XION Rally Argentina after Friday morning's gruelling opening stage which caused carnage among the frontrunners.
He was fastest in Citroen's DS 3 by 31.9sec from Dani Sordo’s Hyundai i20, with Jari-Matti Latvala completing the top three a further 1.9sec behind in a Volkswagen Polo R.
The stage lived up to forecasts that it would be a car-breaker and the biggest name to suffer was championship leader Sebastien Ogier who parked his Polo R after 45km with suspected engine problems.
Neither Meeke nor Sordo escaped unscathed. Meeke drove the entire test with a broken handbrake while Sordo lost time towards the finish when his power steering broke.
"It was difficult in the hairpins and in the last 10km I couldn’t see for the dust. I took it carefully and was idling into corners," said Meeke.
Mads Ostberg was fourth, 43.0sec off the lead, despite stopping mid-stage with an engine issue. "Four rallies, four problems. Not good," said the dejected Norwegian.
read more:
wrc.com/argentina-ss2/
------------------------------------
SS3: Latvala slashes Meeke's lead
Jari-Matti Latvala climbed into second and cut Kris Meeke's lead in half during Friday morning’s second stage at XION Rally Argentina.
Meeke's 31.9sec advantage was cut to 15.3sec by the Finn after the Northern Irishman drove two-thirds of the test from Villa Bustos to Tanti with a rear right puncture on Citroen's DS 3.
"I had a good run for the opening 5-6km but then punctured and had to drive slowly for the final 15km," said Meeke, who was fifth fastest.
Latvala enjoyed a great drive and the Volkswagen Polo R pilot was fastest by 10.2sec from a happier Mads Ostberg, now in third and 20.9sec behind the Finn.
Dani Sordo drove the entire test with no power steering on his Hyundai i20 after his opening stage issues. He lost a minute and plunged from second to sixth.
Also in trouble was Andreas Mikkelsen who finished with the front right damper protruding through his Polo R’s bonnet. He dropped three minutes and was caught by Thierry Neuville, who gave the rear of Mikkelsen’s car a nudge before overtaking.
"He was driving slowly and I had to give him a push to let him know I was there. Clearly it was a bit hard," said Neuville, as he surveyed the damaged front of his i20.
M-Sport duo Ott Tanak and Elfyn Evans were fourth and fifth overall in Ford Fiesta RS cars, despite Evans touching a rock with his front right wheel near the finish. They were separated by 10.5sec.
click:
wrc.com/argentina-ss3/
------------------------------------
SS4: Tanak loses wheel
Estonia's Ott Tanak was the latest frontrunner to strike trouble at XION Rally Argentina when he retired after ripping the front left wheel from his Ford Fiesta RS.
Tanak, who was fourth, entered a water splash in third gear just 2km into the horrendously rough 51.99km stage and hit a rock. He retired instantly but should return tomorrow under Rally 2 rules.
Kris Meeke was fastest by 13.4sec from Jari-Matti Latvala to extend his lead over the Finn to 28.7sec, the Northern Irishman insisting he drove within himself in Citro?n’s DS 3.
"Fastest time wasn't the intention, I just wanted to be clean. The road was hellish rough but I had a good rhythm and the car danced through. I'm closed off from the lead battle. I’m driving at 95 per cent and it’s where I need to be all the time," he said.
Latvala lost his Volkswagen Polo R’s rear bumper and admitted his brakes were losing their bite towards the finish. "A lot of bedrock and loose rocks. I managed to stay away from them but there were a couple of big impacts at the back," he said.
Third fastest kept Mads Ostberg third overall while Tanak's demise promoted Dani Sordo to fourth.
Andreas Mikkelsen endured a tough start in his Volkswagen Polo R and finally retired on the link section to the stage. Also out is Hayden Paddon, whose Hyundai i20 took a fearful battering this morning. The Kiwi didn’t leave the mid-leg service.
click:
wrc.com/argentina-ss4/
------------------------------------
SS5: Transmission trouble for Latvala
Second-placed Jari-Matti Latvala’s hopes of challenging Kris Meeke for the lead at XION Rally Argentina suffered a setback when the Finn encountered transmission problems in the penultimate stage of a gruelling day.
He started the test 28.7sec behind Meeke and the pair were tied at the final split point, but Latvala conceded almost 25sec in the last section. He heads into the final 6.04km super special stage in Villa Carlos Paz 53.1sec adrift.
"We have a problem with the drive from the front differential," said the dejected Volkswagen Polo R driver at the finish.
Meeke was quickest in his DS 3 by 8.4sec from Mads Ostberg, who has now closed the gap on Latvala in the overall standings to 18.6sec. Third fastest for Elfyn Evans in a Ford Fiesta RS narrowed the margin to fourth-placed Dani Sordo to just 1.4sec.
Martin Prokop drove the test with a broken anti-roll bar in his Fiesta RS, damage inflicted in the previous stage. "We had to work to keep the car on the road. It is moving a lot," said the Czech driver.
click:
wrc.com/argentina-ss5/
-----------------------------------
SS6:
Kris Meeke held a commanding lead at XION Rally Argentina on Friday night after a day of carnage in the rock-strewn plains near Cordoba.
The Citroen driver led by 68.4sec in a DS 3 from team-mate Mads Ostberg as the rough gravel tracks sidelined a host of frontrunners, including FIA World Rally Championship leader Sebastien Ogier.
Jari-Matti Latvala was Meeke's closest challenger for much of this opening leg until he struck trouble late in the day and ended 15.1sec behind Ostberg.
Meeke, second after last night's curtain-raising stage, moved ahead on this morning's incredibly rocky opening test and was never headed, despite dropping 15sec with a puncture on the following test. He won three of the five stages.
"Sometimes things just click in a rally car and today was one of those days. Some sections were probably the roughest I've experienced. When the stages are as rough as this you must select a pace that feels good, but my target remains simply to have a clean run," he said.
Latvala remained within 30sec of Meeke until a damaged gearbox casing slowed his Volkswagen Polo R in the penultimate stage. With only two-wheel drive, he dropped almost a minute in the last two tests to drop behind Ostberg.
Read more:
wrc.com/argentina-day-1/
....
