Tänak brilliant winner in Argentina

Ott Tänak (Toyota) dominated the Rally of Argentina to sign his third victory in WRC after Sardinia and Germany in 2017. The Estonian made the difference by dominating the first two stages to finish with a total of ten scratches signed in the space of 14 special stages. The Yaris WRC driver improved his result by picking up two bonus points in the Power Stage.

The podium is completed by the Hyundai de Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo even if the i20 WRCs finished a good distance from the winner since the Belgian finished almost 41 seconds behind the winner. The vice-champion set the best time in the Power Stage, finishing in front Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport) and Andreas Mikkelsen (Hyundai), while Kris Meeke (Citroën) took the final bonus point.

Live TV Power Stage finishing order: – 1. Neuville (5 points)
2. Ogier (4 points)
3. Mikkelsen (3 points)
4. Tänak (2 points)
5. Meeke (1 point) #WRC

— WRC (@OfficialWRC) April 29th

Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport) was put under pressure by Andreas Mikkelsen in the final stage, but the five-time world champion retained his fourth position for a four-second lead over the Norwegian. His teammates suffered as Elfyn Evans finished sixth, more than a minute behind the Top 5, while Teemu Suninen finished ninth behind Kris Meeke and Esapekka Lappi (Toyota) who lost two positions while still suffering from a puncture in the SS16, the first pass of El Condor (used for the Power Stage).

WRC standings after SS18: – 1. Tänak 3h 43m 28.9sec
2. Neuville +33.7sec
3. Sordo +1m 15.7sec
4. Ogier +1m 58.6sec
5. Mikkelsen +2m 02.6sec
6. Evans +3m 06.3sec
7. Meeke +3m 25.7sec #WRC

— WRC (@OfficialWRC) April 29th

Pontus Tidemand (Skoda) completes the Top 10 by taking victory in WRC 2. The Swede had caught up with his teammate Kalle Rovanperä before the Finn went off the road in SS17, ending his race in cars parked on the side of the road. track.

Sébastien Ogier retains the lead in the Championship but only has a ten-point lead over Thierry Neuville. Ott Tänak is 28 points behind the leader.

In the Manufacturers' Championship, Hyundai increases its lead over M-Sport which is now down 15 units. Toyota closes to five points behind Malcolm Wilson's team.

The WRC will resume its rights on the weekend of May 18 with the Rally of Portugal.

Discover the analysis of the Rally Argentina carried out by our special correspondent in issue 2163 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from this Thursday on newsstands.