Rally Argentina April 24

**Pold Denis** · 8th Apr 2009 05:44 AM

Round: 5
Categories:
WRC, J-WRC, P-WRC
Based:
Cordoba-Villa Carlos Paz
Surface:
Gravel
Most recent winner:
Sebastien Loeb (2008)
Rally website:
www.rallyargentina.com
One of the WRC's most spectacular and demanding events, Rally Argentina is based from the town of Villa Carlos Paz, 35km south of Cordoba and right in the heart of the stunning Cordobese Sierras.
The competitive action takes place in the three valleys of Cordoba province, each of which offers gravel stages of differing character and landscape. The scenery ranges from huge expanses of open plains north of Carlos Paz, to the mountains further west where narrow rocky tracks wind through a dramatic, high altitude landscape that resembles the surface of the moon.
In general the stages of Rally Argentina are soft and sandy, with many river crossings, and frequently become rough and rutted on repeat passes. The blend of high speeds and bumpy terrain can make Argentina a car breaker. If that wasn't enough, the high altitude of the stages, just as in Mexico, saps the cars of power as they struggle for breath in the thin air.
New for 2009

The 2008 edition of Rally Argentina was run in March and was notable for torrential rain and treacherous, muddy stages. Scheduled one month later in the calendar this year's event should be drier - statistically at least. April's average rainfall of 53cm compares favourably to March's 109cm. Argentina is one of only four events this year eligible for the WRC, P-WRC and J-WRC competitions

**Citroen 101** · 14th Apr 2009 04:58 AM

OMG I cant wait to see that one!! Loes is gonna take it again...

**Citroen 101** · 16th Apr 2009 08:11 PM

**Pold Denis** · 22nd Apr 2009 06:08 PM

After an up and down start to the season, during which he has proved quick but accident prone, this week Citroen Junior team driver Sebastien Ogier is out to prove he deserves his billing as a WRC star of the future.
For the first time in his career, the reigning J-WRC champion will be nominated to score manufacturer points for his Citroen Junior Team, which makes a solid finish more crucial then ever.
The sixth place he scored on the opening round in Ireland remains Ogier’s best result this year, but the Frenchman is hoping his prior knowledge of the Argentinean roads will stand him in good stead this week.
“I had my first taste of Argentina last year, when I came over to do the recce,” said Ogier. “The stages are really good and extremely varied. This is the sort of rally where accurate pace notes will be absolutely vital. The fact that I am nominated for points will not change my approach at all though. My objective will be to get to the finish without making mistakes in order to show that I can be consistent.”
Olivier Quesnel, Citroen Sport’s team principal, underlined what he was expecting from Ogier and his other driver, Conrad Rautenbach. “Having already amply demonstrated their speed, our drivers will now have to display their consistency and resilience,” he said. “Getting to the finish has to be the primary objective for all our crews.”

**Gallardo** · 25th Apr 2009 04:29 AM

Rally Argentina day two

The second day of Rally Argentina, round five of the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship, takes competitors south-west of Carlos Paz for some of the season's classic stages.
After leaving the overnight Park Ferme at 0700hrs, they face two identical loops of four stages - split by a 30-minute service - before a second pass over the Super Special stage at Cordoba stadium.
The bulk of Saturday’s action is based high in the Traslasierra mountains where the dramatic rocky landscape of the classic El Condor and Giulio Cesare tests provides stunning scenery.
Cars return to Carlos Paz for the final overnight halt at 2030hrs after 141.64km of competition.
Stage descriptions:
After the pre-event recce, Petter Solberg’s co-driver Phil Mills described each of the stages to wrc.com. Here’s what Mills thinks of Saturday’s roads:
SS10/14: El Mirador - San Lorenzo. 20.81km
“I don’t think this stage has been used since 2000. In my opinion it will be the twistiest stage of the rally - and one of the most difficult too - with massive suitcase sized rocks just by the side of the road. Get it just a little bit wrong and you’ll have a wheel off in here for sure. It opens out for the last two or three kilometres and gets very fast but other than that it’s tricky and technical.”
SS11/15: Mina Clavero - Guilio Cesare. 22.79km
“The famous El Condor stage, but run from the bottom to the top. It’s been a part of this rally for as long as I can remember. The base is smooth, sandy and rocky. Normally run on a Sunday, this year they’ve put it a day earlier. We’ve all seen pictures of the classic, rocky Argentinean landscape that looks like the surface of the moon. Well, this is it. The road rises to 10,400ft at the top and car performance gets less and less as the air gets thinner. Normally at around the 16km mark you actually go through the cloud base. So you’re looking up at the clouds at the start, and down on them at the finish.”

SS12/16: El Condor - Copina. 16.29km
“The exact opposite of SS11/15 because this is the descent through Condor. It’s the old, old main road from the 1940s, so it’s narrow, with suspension bridges and cuttings through rocks which are very tight to get through. The road itself has a sandy base and is littered with rocks. The last three kilometres are the exception, however. If it’s wet here the peculiar surface gets as slippery as ice, and it’s caused lots plenty of problems in the past.”
SS13/17: Icho Cruz - Carlos Paz. 9.73km
“This one has never been used before and from the look of it on the recce it could turn out to be one of the trickiest of the whole rally. It might be one of the shorter stages but it’s got a bit of everything - huge crests, off-camber corners, jumps, water-splashes - you name it. It starts off rocky, on a loose wide main road, and then turns into a roller coaster of crests and jumps and tricky technical corners. From the six kilometre point it opens out to a flat out dash to the line, but there are plenty of rocks around to watch out for.”
SS18: Cordoba Stadium Super Special 2.40km
“This year the track has a brand new kidney-shaped layout. Compared to most Super Specials this one’s a bit unusual because there are two tracks and two cars tackle them at the same time but in opposite directions. Each car does three laps. The surface is gravel which is sprayed with salt water to help it bind together. It should be a good show for the crowds.”

**Gallardo** · 25th Apr 2009 04:32 AM

The first place was for Nicolás Madero with Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IV, with an excellent rhythm during the whole journey. The young man from the city of San Carlos de Bariloche overtook Gabriel Pozzo by 12s3.
Pozzo was about to win Day 1. However, some problems that started in SS8 delayed him to the 7th place in SS9. As a consequence he dropped to the 2nd position of the overall classification. Nasser Al-Attiyah positioned 3rd +19s7.

**Citroen 101** · 26th Apr 2009 05:47 PM

Sebastien Loeb wins Rally Argentina!

Citroen C4 driver Sebastien Loeb has won Rally Argentina - and taken his fifth successive victory on the South American WRC classic.
The five time world rally champion headed a Citroen Total team one-two finish, completing the three day event 1min 13.1 seconds ahead of his Spanish team-mate Dani Sordo.
Today’s win was the 52nd in Loeb’s record breaking WRC career, his fifth from five events this season, and puts the Frenchman in a commanding lead of this year’s drivers’ championship, with a perfect maximum score of 50 points.
Loeb took the rally lead from Sordo on Saturday’s second stage [SS12] and held it until the end. His team-mate moved into the runner-up spot on SS15, when the pair’s only real challenger, Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen, retired with an overheated engine.
“It really couldn’t have gone much better for us,” said Loeb at the end of the Cordoba Super Special. “It’s been a great rally. The stages are exciting to drive and we enjoyed a good fight with Mikko until Saturday afternoon. Okay, after he retired it got a bit less exciting but I still enjoyed my driving here.”

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