SS14: Latvala crashes out of Argentina lead

Jari-Matti Latvala crashed out of the lead of YPF Rally Argentina on Saturday afternoon to leave Hayden Paddon with a comfortable advantage at the head of this fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

Latvala started the second pass of the Los Gigantes - Cantera El Condor speed test, the longest of the weekend, with a 14.5sec lead in his Volkswagen Polo R. However, the Finn went off the road at 21km and retired.

His demise left Paddon, who won the stage by 0.9sec from Hyundai i20 team-mate Dani Sordo, with a 34.3sec lead over Sébastien Ogier with one more stage remaining today and three tomorrow.

“That changes things a little bit, doesn’t it?” said Paddon, when told about Latvala’s accident. “I’m struggling with the tyre balance. I’ve struggled in the past and I’m trying to adapt. We want a good clean run on the next stage, we know Seb will be fast there and tomorrow.”

Following drivers reported Latvala’s crash was a big one but both he and co-driver Miikka Anttila were reported to be OK.