Rally Argentina 2018

13h

Rovanperä finds himself 32s behind new WRC 2 leader Tidemand. The crew was slowed down by a part of the passenger compartment which came loose.

 

13h

Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport) may have swept the road in the first stage of the Rally Argentina, but the leader of the Championship took the scratch in the SS2 of Las Bajadas – Villa del Dique by completing the 16,65km in 8'55''7. The Frenchman for once had an advantage since his opponents complained about the dust hindering visibility.

Andreas Mikkelsen (Hyundai) was the closest, finishing 3”9 behind. Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) followed at 5”6 while Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) dropped eight seconds. Kris Meeke (Citroën) finished around ten seconds behind despite a slow puncture. All WRC drivers having opted for five soft tyres, the Northern Irishman no longer has a spare wheel until service. However, he is ahead of his teammate Craig Breen by a little over a second. Esapekka Lappi (Toyota) followed more than 14 seconds behind, preceding Elfyn Evans (M-Sport), Teemu Suninen (M-Sport) and Ott Tänak (Toyota) who spun. Dani Sordo (Hyundai) was the slowest with more than 24 seconds.

Sébastien Ogier takes the lead in Rally Argentina, four seconds ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen. Jari-Matti Latvala follows less than seven seconds just ahead of Thierry Neuville. Kris Meeke completes the Top 5, 11 seconds ahead of Esapekka Lappi, Elfyn Evans and Teemu Suninen. Ott Tänak and Craig Breen are tied with 23 seconds behind the race lead. Dani Sordo is on the verge of the Top 7.

13h

Al Qassimi fails more than a minute behind Ogier.

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Suninen also lost time, more than 20 seconds behind Ogier's scratch. “It was horrible with the dust. »

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Evans is also behind by only setting the 8th time, 17″2 behind Ogier. “It was very bad, I am embarrassed by the dust raised by the others. »

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Sordo was the slowest, clocking in at 24s from the provisional benchmark.

Breen set the 6th time, 12 seconds behind the provisional scratch. “I had dust in the cabin,” explained the Citroën driver.

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Latvala signed the 3rd provisional time, 5″6 from the provisional scratch. Sordo is also at the finish.

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Lappi is also lacking rhythm, failing more than 14 seconds behind Ogier. This is the worst time behind his teammate Tänak.

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Meeke finished 10″8 behind Ogier, but the Citroën driver suffered a slow left-rear puncture.

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Mikkelsen ranked 3″9 behind Ogier who maintains the provisional best time. Tänak lost big with his spin as he failed almost 24s from the benchmark.

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Neuville finished 8s behind Ogier at the end of SS2. The Frenchman is 7″6 ahead of him overall.

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Tänak made a mistake in the special. The Toyota driver had to reverse and lost precious seconds.

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Neuville has reached the finish but his time is not yet known.

Mikkelsen is 5″3 behind Ogier in the 2nd partial.

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Ogier sets the first benchmark in 8'55"7.

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Neuville and Tänak joined Ogier in the special. The M-Sport driver is ahead with 4″4 ahead of the Toyota driver in the 2nd partial.

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This is the first time in 7 years that this course has been contested. The special begins with a rapid passage and a significant jump before the road narrows. The last sector allows the drivers to regain speed.

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Ogier took the start of the 16,85km special.

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Ogier will once again have the disadvantage of sweeping the special stages. The Championship leader will start in front of Neuville, Tänak, Mikkelsen, Meeke, Lappi, Latvala, Sordo, Breen, Evans and Suninen.

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The drivers will be put to the test since the crews will also have to cover more than 500km of liaison. The day will end around 22 p.m. with the Santa Rosa – San Agustin SS8, 23,85km long.

12h

The first day will be the longest of the event with 154,2km timed:

 

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