Meeke and Ostberg hold top two places in Argentina

— With just two stages left to complete before the end of Rally Argentina, the DS 3 WRCs of Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle and Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson occupy the top two places in the overall standings.
— The third Citroën DS3 WRC entered by the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, driven by Khalid Al Qassimi and Chris Patterson, is in seventh position heading into the final leg.

The organisers altered the itinerary for day two of Rally Argentina just before the start of the rally. The very long San Marcos to Characato stage was cut from 56 to 42 kilometres when the roads became impassable after very heavy rainfall in the region.

Although the toughest section of the day’s route was thus avoided, the rest of the programme nonetheless provided plenty of challenges for the cars and crews still in the race.

And within a few kilometres of the start, Kris Meeke experienced the tricky conditions first hand as he span off the road and had to reverse. The Briton then concentrated on managing his lead. At the midway point of the day, Mads Østberg was 32.6 seconds behind, with third-placed Jari-Matti Latvala over a minute off the pace.

In the afternoon, the second run on Capilla del Monte/San Marcos was cancelled before any of the three DS 3 WRCs lined up at the start, after Hayden Paddon went off. The leg therefore ended with the 42.5-kilometre test to Characato. The two DS 3 WRCs of Meeke and Østberg remained in control of the rally as they both produced good times in the final test. The Northern Irishman made it back to service at the end of the day with a 38.6-second lead over his team-mate, Mads Østberg. Jari-Matti Latvala is third, over a minute behind.

Rally Argentina is scheduled to conclude in Carlos Paz after two runs on El Condor – Copina, over a total of 32.64 kilometres. The podium ceremony is due to be held at 2pm.

QUOTE, UNQUOTE

Kris Meeke: “There are only 32 kilometres left to go tomorrow but they are some of the most difficult roads in the World Championship! So it’s not over yet, by any means. The roads are barely wider than the car on El Condor, and you have a lot of rocks and moonlike landscapes. It’s going to be a long day for us. I still have to finish the job…”

Mads Østberg: “The morning went well, we had good pace. This afternoon, with only one stage to complete, we backed off a little to make sure of bringing home the DS 3 WRC in perfect condition. I remain focused on second place, which is very important for me and for the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team. We’re not taking any risks. We have to keep going to the end to secure a good result for the team!”

Khalid Al Qassimi: “I started at a good pace this morning, although we had to slow down on the opening stage due to the dust. I was very cautious when crossing the water splashes. The last stage was especially rough with some very deep ruts. I tried to stay on the lines as much as possible. I really took care to make sure of getting to the end of this leg. I have been keeping an eye on the progress of Kris and Mads. They are doing a great job at the front!”

HOW THE ACTION UNFOLDED

SS7 – Capilla del Monte – San Marcos 1 (23.10km) – With only two minutes between the start times of each car, the drivers complained about the dust. Kris Meeke had a minor spin at the start of the test. Having rejoined under Rally2 rules, Sébastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen were the two quickest on the stage. Mads Østberg recorded the fourth best time to edge closer to overall leader Kris Meeke, whilst holding off the challenge from Jari-Matti Latvala.

SS8 – San Marcos – Characato 1 (42.50km) – Andreas Mikkelsen won the stage, trailed by Dani Sordo and Mads Østberg. Kris Meeke dropped around twenty seconds, but maintained his lead over Latvala. Khalid Al Qassimi remained eighth overall. Stéphane Lefebvre was forced to retire in his DS 3 R5 due to an engine problem.

SS9 – Capilla del Monte – San Marcos 2 (23.10km) – An accident involving Hayden Paddon led to the cancellation of the stage before the DS 3 WRC even took to the start.

SS10 – San Marcos – Characato 2 (42.50km) – Dani Sordo, who had been running fourth overall, stopped on the stage. Andreas Mikkelsen went fastest, ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala with Kris Meeke and Mads Østberg just a few seconds adrift. Going into Sunday’s final leg, the two DS 3 WRCs therefore remain in control of the rally, in first and second overall.