WRC: Rally Argentina

Steve · Apr 27, 2012

Friday midday wrap: Solberg on top (WRC.com)

27 Apr 12

It has been a dramatic start to round five of the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia with Petter Solberg leading for Ford and Sebastien Loeb down in fourth overall after spinning his factory Citroen on three separate occasions.

With overnight rain leaving the stages damp and muddy in places, conditions have been far from ideal for the competing crews on Philips Rally Argentina.

Loeb was fastest on Fridayâ€™s first test to hit back from the time loss suffered on Thursday nightâ€™s superspecial stage, despite a spin. However, two further spins on the 51.88-kilometre Speedagro Ascochinga/Agua de Oro stage means he now trails Solberg by 34.8s at the midday service in Villa Carlos Paz.

Solberg, whose advantage over second-placed Mikko Hirvonen - in another Citroen - stands at 20.1s, said: â€œTwenty seconds is not a lot I tell you. In the last stage I hit a bank and bent the rear link. I thought I had a puncture and didnâ€™t take any risks.â€

Loeb said a bout of oversteer was to blame for his woes as he bids to make it seven wins in a row in South America. â€œI have a lot of oversteer and on the exit of the corner I canâ€™t keep the car on the line,â€ said the world championship leader.

Behind Hirvonen, Dani Sordo has impressed on his first outing for the factory Ford team in place of the injured Jari-Matti Latvala. The Spaniard is a strong third, 24.6s down on team-mate Solberg.

Thierry Neuville is fifth in his Citroen Junior World Rally Team DS3 WRC with Vodafone Rally de Portugal winner Mads Ostberg completing the top six.

Sebastien Ogier is seventh in his Super 2000-specification Skoda Fabia, three-tenths of a second ahead of Volkswagen Motorsport team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen, who is impressing on his Rally Argentina debut.

Armindo Araujo said he is driving â€œcleverâ€ in his efforts to reach the finish with his WRC Team MINI Portugal entry unscathed. He is currently ninth overall on his first visit to Argentina.

Nasser Al-Attiyah completes the top 10 following a troubled run through stage two when a spin and a stall cost him precious time in his Qatar World Rally Team Citroen. Al-Attiyah is suffering neck pains, which he said contributed to his earlier mistake.

Martin Prokop is 11th after losing ground with a rear puncture on stage two. Evgeny Novikov failed to complete stage three after tearing a wheel off his M-Sport Fiesta. Team-mate Ott Tanak made it through the run after losing some 18 minutes stopping to change a damaged steering arm.

Ex-Formula One driver Eliseo Salazar has completed both of Fridayâ€™s stages unscathed in his MINI. The Chilean is a fine 17th overall on his first appearance in the WRC. Daniel Oliveira is making up time following his exit on Thursdayâ€™s superspecial with damaged suspension. The Brazil World Rally Team star reported a minor handbrake glitch on stage two.

Multiple Peruvian champion Nicolas Fuchs heads the Production Car World Rally Championship standings with Argentine Marcos Ligato six seconds behind. Title leader Michal Kosciuszko, from Poland, is firmly in contention in third with Mexico Benito Guerra fourth.

Rally Argentina is running approximately one hour behind schedule after a fuel truck, supplied locally, broke down heading to the refuel point this morning.
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Steve · Apr 27, 2012

The morning stages were delayed about an hour today because of a broken down fuel supply truck. Here's the resulting traffic jam.

Nathan · Apr 27, 2012

Now that is a funny looking picture.

It needs to a be a caption contest!

ScottinBend · Apr 27, 2012

Just a heads up.....Speed will be showing the 1 hour review show Sun night. I think they will be doing this for the rest of the season.

Steve · Apr 27, 2012

ScottinBend said: ↑

Just a heads up.....Speed will be showing the 1 hour review show Sun night. I think they will be doing this for the rest of the season.
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I'm not sure whether they're going to keep it up but they announced the schedule for the next 3 rallies.

Check this thread for dates/times: WRC on Speed

Steve · Apr 27, 2012

Sordo targets Argentina speed hike (WRC.com)

27 Apr 12

Dani Sordo reckons he can up his speed in the Ford Fiesta RS WRC he is using in competition for the first time on Philips Rally Argentina.

Sordo is deputising for the injured Jari-Matti Latvala in the factory Ford team alongside regular co-driver Carlos del Barrio. Despite a lack of time in the car prior to the South American round, Sordo is a strong third overall after three stages, 24.6s down on team-mate and rally leader Petter Solberg.

â€œThe more kilometres I drive in the car, the more comfortable I feel,â€ said Sordo. â€œIâ€™m learning all the time and I know that I can go faster, but I want to get used to the car properly before thinking about set-up changes. In places conditions were slippery and in others there was good grip, so Iâ€™m enjoying my first experience in the Fiesta.â€

Spaniard Sordo, 28, is competing for Ford on a one-off basis. He said prior to the event that scoring as many points as possible for the Blue Oval in the battle for the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia manufacturersâ€™ title was his primary objective on the Villa Carlos Paz-based round.
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Gil-galad · Apr 27, 2012

Starting to wonder if we'll ever see Dani back in a MINI...or if we do, if it will be a farewell tour...

Steve · Apr 27, 2012

Petter Solberg breaks steering arm and gives Mikko Hirvonen Rally Argentina lead (Autosport.com)

Friday, April 27th 2012, 17:17 GMT

Petter Solberg has lost the lead of Rally Argentina after hitting trouble on the first stage of Friday's second loop.

The Ford driver broke a steering arm on the second run through the La Pampa test.

Solberg had been leading by 20 seconds going into the stage, having been at the head of the field since Thursday night's superspecial. The Norwegian attempted to change the steering arm at the roadside, but went over the time limit and retired from the leg.

The drama moved Mikko Hirvonen's Citroen into the lead, ahead of team-mate Sebastien Loeb, who was delayed by three spins on Friday morning, but moved past Ford's Dani Sordo on SS4.
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Steve · Apr 27, 2012

Rally Argentina leg one will run full distance into night despite fuel tanker delay (Autosport.com)

By David Evans | Friday, April 27th 2012, 17:13 GMT

Rally Argentina organisers have confirmed that the full distance of leg one will be run despite the delays incurred on Friday morning - meaning the final stage of the day will take place in the dark.

The fifth round of the World Rally Championship was delayed when the truck taking petrol to the refuel after stage two suffered mechanical problems. The first car on the road this morning - Sebastien Loeb's Citroen - was scheduled to start the La Pampa test at 0728 local time, but the #1 Citroen did not get a green light until 0830.

A spokesman from the organisers said: "We had to replace the truck which was taking the fuel and this took some time, it was a problem of the [fuel] supplier. The rally is running one hour and two minutes late now and will continue to do so throughout this afternoon. This does mean the crews will start the final stage today in the night time."

Loeb had been scheduled to start Friday morning's opener before dawn, but the delay meant he ran SS2 in daylight.

The crews have planned one more stage in the dark - Saturday night's repeat of the superspecial stage on the outskirts of Villa Carlos Paz.
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Steve · Apr 27, 2012

SS5: Loeb takes Argentina lead (WRC.com)

27 Apr 12

Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS5, Speedagro Ascochinga/Agua de Oro II (51.88 kilometres)

Sebastien Loeb has moved into the lead of Philips Rally Argentina after he went 13.4s faster than Citroen team-mate Mikko Hirvonen on Fridayâ€™s penultimate stage.

Loeb now tops Hirvonen in the overall classification by 1.1s with Dani Sordo third, 13.1s down on Loeb after the Spanish Ford driver went second quickest on stage five.

â€œWe changed a bit the set-up and I was much more confident in the afternoon,â€ said the eight-time world champion. â€œI pushed really hard and there were no mistakes this time. It is very close with Mikko and there is a long way to go.â€

Hirvonen reported struggling on the rutted road surface, while Sordo nudged his left-rear wheel, which was out of line at the stage finish.

Mads Ostberg said the power issue that plagued him on stage four has been cured. However, an intercom problem cost the Norwegian vital seconds in his Adapta Fiesta.

Thierry Neuvilleâ€™s impressive run is at an end. The Belgian was fourth overall but failed to get beyond the 30-kilometre mark with reports that his Citroen Junior World Rally Team DS3 WRC sustained significant right-rear damage.

As expected, former leader Petter Solberg failed to start the stage as a result of the steering arm that broke on his Fiesta on the previous run. The Norwegian was 5.8 kilometres from the end of stage four when he hit trouble.

Crews are now on a 90-kilometre road section back to service in Villa Carlos Paz. There is one stage remaining before the completion of day one, the 19.18-kilometre Cosquin/Villa Allende run.
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Justa Jim · Apr 27, 2012

Go Dani. I was thinking about him today, as I was driving our Ford F-350 around doing chores. :lol:

Jim

Steve · Apr 27, 2012

SS6: Hirvonen fastest to cut Loebâ€™s lead (WRC.com)

27 Apr 12

Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS6, Cosquin/Villa Allende (19.18 kilometres)

Mikko Hirvonen has cut Sebastien Loebâ€™s lead on Philips Rally Argentina - round five of the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia - to 0.1s after edging his Citroen team-mate by 1.0s through Fridayâ€™s final stage.

â€œThe start of the stage was not good at all but the rest was okay so we will see what happens,â€ said Hirvonen. â€œI hope we will have a bit of a fight because Dani [Sordo] is not so far away.â€

Sordo, in a factory Ford, was third quickest, 21.0s adrift of Hirvonen, after opting for a hard compound Michelin tyre on the damp stage. â€œWe take the decision in the team,â€ said Sordo. â€œWe did not have any softs. We pushed hard but we did not do very well.â€

Loeb, meanwhile, admitted it hadnâ€™t been an easy stage. â€œThe visibility was coming down and I lost a bit of confidence because it was very slippery in some places, not easy,â€ he said.

Nasser Al-Attiyah set the fourth fastest time for the Qatari World Rally Team. Mads Ostberg was fifth quickest with Martin Prokop claiming the sixth fastest time in his Autotek Fiesta.

Saturdayâ€™s action gets underway with the 20.18-kilometre San Agustin-Santa Rosa run, which is due to go live at 08:30hrs local time.

Photo: McKlein
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Steve · Apr 27, 2012

Solberg says he was lucky to escape a big crash after stage five retirement (Autosport.com)

By David Evans | Friday, April 27th 2012, 21:54 GMT

Ford driver Petter Solberg has admitted he was lucky to escape a big crash when he went off the road in sixth gear on the fifth stage of Rally Argentina today.

Solberg was forced to retire from the lead of a World Rally Championship round for the second time in succession after hitting a rock on the fourth stage of the event.

He continued to drive after the impact, but went off the road over a crest six miles later in the stage.

The Norwegian said: "This is very disappointing, but I was driving in the ruts, in the right place on the road and the rock was in the rut. What could I do?

"I couldn't avoid it, nothing. The steering was bent, but we carried on and I pushed hard not to lose time.

"We were flat out when we went over the crest. The car landed, but the steering arm broke on the landing and we went off. It was very lucky not to be bigger when you have sixth gear and off the road."

Solberg and co-driver Chris Patterson fixed the damaged steering arm and got back in the car to continue - only to discover the impact with the rock had damaged the steering as well. They were then told to park the car and retire from the day.

Ford team director Malcolm Wilson said: "We've just thrown it away again. It's very frustrating."

Solberg will return to the event tomorrow.
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Steve · Apr 27, 2012

Drive of the Day - Argentina day 1: Dani Sordo (MaxRally.com)

27th April 2012

Any time Dani Sordo turned in the kind of performance he did on day one of Rally Argentina 2012 during his Citroen number two stint, it would have been hailed as a major step forward on gravel for the invariably overshadowed asphalt expert.

So to produce the times he was churning out in a Ford that he had only squeezed in a quick test of prior to the rally made this one of the Spaniard's most impressive World Rally performances yet.

Maybe don't look too closely at his time loss in the dark on SS6, because prior to that he was within 13s of the leading Citroen duo.

If he just keeps going, a podium is pretty much in the bag - and Sordo surely would have settled for that had it been offered to him before the weekend. But he's also now Ford's main man with Petter Solberg back in the Rally 2 wilderness. If he could keep the Citroens on their toes, then Sordo really will earn Ford's admiration, and at an ideal time with the 2013 driver market slotting into place.
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Justa Jim · Apr 27, 2012

^^ Well I guess that says it all. MINI had it, lost it and doesn't seem to care. I'm glad Dani has found his next step and I hope Kris does as well. Fords are cool. Been around a long time. As Chickmini would say, Ford, Ford, Ford......

Jim

Crashton · Apr 28, 2012

Nathan said: ↑

Now that is a funny looking picture.

It needs to a be a caption contest!
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That reminds me of doing an SCCA Pro rally. Run a stage or two & wait for an hour for some reason or another.:crazy: You'd think the FIA could run their show a bit better.

My caption...

The rally stops while the marshal's finds the owner of an F350 parked in the middle of the road.

The rally stops while the marshal's attempt to get the mushroom hunters to sign waivers.

The rally stops while the first car on the road shows the marshal's how to work a start control.

The rally stops while........ ( I've got a hundred of them)

Justa Jim · Apr 28, 2012

Crashton said: ↑

That reminds me of doing an SCCA Pro rally. Run a stage or two & wait for an hour for some reason or another.:crazy: You'd think the FIA could run their show a bit better.

My caption. The rally stops while the marshal's fins the owner of an F350 parked in the middle of the road.

The rally stops while the marshal's attempt to get the mushroom hunters to sign waivers.

The rally stops while the first car on the road shows the marshal's how to work a start control.

The rally stops while........ ( I've got a hundred of them)
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" Come on, somebody has to have the right pace notes for this rally"

Steve · Apr 28, 2012

This is Citroen-centric but still fun...in lieu of better video at this point.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OBXVqbHIG0]CitroÃ«n WRC 2012 - Rally Argentina - Friday - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Apr 28, 2012

Sat morning wrap-up. At this point Araujo is the top running MINI driver in 9th, Salazar up to 16th, Nobre 19th. Dani Sordo, in a Ford for this rally, seems to alternate between taking it easy and struggling with the car, but he's holding 3rd.

SS7: Loeb sets the pace (WRC.com)

28 Apr 12

Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS7, San Agustin-Santa Rosa I (20.18 kilometres)

Sebastien Loeb has extended his lead of Philips Rally Argentina to 3.9s by winning Saturdayâ€™s first stage in his Citroen DS3 WRC, which is running on a combination of soft and hard compound Michelin tyres for the inconsistent road conditions, which are largely dry but damp in places following overnight rain.

Petter Solberg, who is competing under Rally 2 rules following his exit on Friday, was second fastest in his factory Ford Fiesta RS WRC, 1.5s down on Loeb. â€œToday I have to push and risk to get up to the high points,â€ said the Norwegian. â€œWe just have to keep going.â€

Mikko Hirvonen was third fastest in his Citroen, 3.8s slower than Loeb. Ott Tanak, running first one the road, was fourth quickest. The Estonian said he made a cautious start to the stage following his day one exit. He also reported the road being drier and looser than heâ€™d expected, despite overnight rain.

Thierry Neuville, another driver running under Rally 2 regulations, was fifth quickest. He said: â€œWe have shown our speed but now we need to find a good rhythm to stay on the road and donâ€™t do mistakes. We had soft tyres on the rear and the car was sliding a lot.â€

Dani Sordo maintains third overall but has dropped ground to the leading Citroen drivers with the sixth quickest time. The Ford driver described the stage as being â€œvery trickyâ€.

Evgeny Novikov said he did not push due to the slippery conditions in his M-Sport Fiesta. He was eighth quickest.

Meanwhile, Chilean ex-Formula One racer Eliseo Salazar suffered a spin and a stall at a hairpin in his Prodrive-run MINI.

Overnight Production Car World Rally Championship leader Nicolas Fuchs is dropping time with a differential problem. He has dropped behind category rival Michal Kosciuszko as a result. Suban Aksa completed the stage with a front-right puncture and damaged suspension following an off.

Photo: McKlein
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SS8: Hirvonen fights back (WRC.com)

28 Apr 12

Wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS8, Amboy-Santa Monica I (20.33 kilometres)

Mikko Hirvonen has claimed his second stage win on Philips Rally Argentina, edging out Citroen team-mate and rally leader Sebastien Loeb in the process as the battle for victory on round five of the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia intensifies.

Hirvonen, from Finland, started day two 0.1s behind Loeb but slipped back when Loeb topped the timesheets on Saturdayâ€™s first test. However, the Finnâ€™s performance on stage eight means the gap out front is down to a slender 2.4s heading to the longest stage of the day, the 39.74-kilometre Intiyaco-Golpe de Agua run.

â€œI really enjoyed that stage, it was fantastic with all those jumps,â€ said Hirvonen, who has yet to win in Argentina and has been told by Citroen bosses he is free to challenge team leader Loeb for the victory.

Loeb was 1.5s slower than Hirvonen in third. He said: â€œYes I lost a bit of time. I done a few mistakes because I pushed too hard at the start and I was off the line. It was not easy.â€

Petter Solberg continued his charge up the leaderboard following his retirement on Friday afternoon with the second fastest time, a mere 0.5s slower than the standard set by Hirvonen. The factory Ford driver said he was on a â€œbig pushâ€ in his efforts to move back into the point-scoring positions.

Dani Sordo reported that he was struggling for confidence in his Fiesta, which he said was â€œmoving about a lotâ€ on a mixture of soft and hard compound tyres. â€œSome places I am over the limit, some places I am too slow,â€ said the Spaniard, who was fifth fastest. â€œItâ€™s not very good.â€
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SS9: Hirvonen closes on Loeb (WRC.com)

28 Apr 12

wrc.com stage summary

Stage data: SS9, Intiyaco-Golpe de Agua I (39.74 kilometres)

Mikko Hirvonen has taken a further 0.3s out of Sebastien Loebâ€™s lead on Philips Rally Argentina by winning the final stage of Saturday morning in his Citroen DS3 WRC. It means the Finn trails Frenchman Loeb by 2.1s heading to the midday service in Villa Carlos Paz.

â€œIt was a little up and down and the end of the stage wasnâ€™t so good because the pace notes were not perfect,â€ said Hirvonen. â€œBut it was the best stage in Argentina that I ever did, it was absolutely fantastic.â€

Loeb admitted he was lucky to complete the stage following a â€œbig momentâ€ when he briefly went off the road in his Citroen. â€œI was pushing very hard, I had a good start and had a big moment when I hit a big rock. Itâ€™s very, very close with Mikko.â€

Petter Solberg said he wasnâ€™t entirely confident with his pace notes for the last 10 kilometres, which he prepared in foggy and wet conditions earlier in the week. Nevertheless the Ford driver was third fastest.

Nasser Al-Attiyah reached the stage finish with significant right-rear suspension and wheel damage. The Qatar World Rally Team driver reported striking a rock in the last two kilometres of the stage and fears he would be forced to retire from day two.

Mads Ostberg said the right-rear wheel of his Adapta Fiesta came off a bridge during a moment in the stage. He survived to beat Martin Prokop to the seventh best time.

Thierry Neuville reported making a mistake in his Citroen, which he said was running too low to the ground. Martin Prokop suffered a few big moments in a high-speed section in his DMACK-shod Fiesta, while Armindo Araujo finished the stage with a badly worn left-rear tyre that was affecting the balance of his WRC Team MINI Portugal entry.

Daniel Oliveiraâ€™s Brazil World Rally Team Fiesta has developed a powersteering glitch. The 26-year-old completed stage nine with the steering column wresting on his legs and has lost considerable time as a result.

Former grand prix driver Eliseo Salazar likened the stage to a Formula One race after his MINI John Cooper Works WRC touched 200 kilometres per hour on a straight section.
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Steve · Apr 28, 2012

This could make things interesting. The rally is only half done and anyone following a real endurance strategy may find it paying off over the second half of the rally.

Rally Argentina leaders face tyre shortage (Autosport.com)

By David Evans | Saturday, April 28th 2012, 15:14 GMT

The drivers fighting for victory on Rally Argentina will have to switch to unsuitable hard compound tyres for Saturday afternoon after exhausting the limited supply of soft Michelins in the morning.

Following shocking scenes on this event last season, when tyres were shredded by asphalt sections of the stages, the FIA permitted the use of 10 emergency tyres which would be used in more extreme weather conditions. The wet weather in Argentina pressed those covers into action, but the crews have now run out.

Drivers left Villa Carlo Paz this morning with a mix of hard and soft tyres, with rally leader Sebastien Loeb running one compound on one side of his Citroen and one compound on the other.

So bad was the issue that some of the leaders were taking two spare hard tyres to use on the road section and then changing them to the softs before the morning's first stage.

Ford tyre engineer George Black said: "It's been a case of mixing the best of the soft tyres we've had for Dani [Sordo] and Mads [Ostberg] this morning, but all the softs are just about scrap now. We're on hards for this afternoon."

While showers are still possible this afternoon, Sunday's stages - including the morning's 41-mile opener - will all be run on hard tyres.

DMACK, Michelin's only competitor in the World Rally Championship, nominated its soft tyre for this event and, therefore has a big stock left for its top-class representative Martin Prokop. The Czech Ford driver is running sixth, but will move into fifth following the demise of Nasser Al-Attiyah, who hit a rock and damaged his Citroen's suspension on SS9.
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