SS5 : Latvala continues Argentina charge

Jari-Matti Latvala continued his charge at the top of the Rally Argentina leaderboard by clinching his fourth stage win of the world championship qualifier.

The Ford Fiesta RS WRC driver set a time of 10m19.0s through the repeated El Mirador-San Lorenzo stage, which was 1.6s faster than his chief pursuer, Petter Solberg in a Citroen DS3 WRC.

“I have a very good feeling and I really enjoy the driving,” said Latvala, whose overall lead has increased to 13.9s. “The car is performing like I want it to do and that’s where the confidence is coming from. When you have a good rhythm [the speed] comes naturally.”

Mikko Hirvonen was third fastest in his Fiesta and said: “I’m trying to go as fast as I can so Jari-Matti doesn’t get away, that was some push and I made no mistakes.”

Sebastien Ogier suffered a small spin early in the stage in his factory DS3 WRC, losing approximately five seconds in the process. However, he still managed to go quicker than his Citroen team-mate Sebastien Loeb.

Loeb, who has been hampered by the imposition of a one-minute penalty for an early check-in, said: “The only way for me is to push. It is cleaning more than in the morning. I’m pushing hard but it’s impossible to make a good time.”

Standings after SS5: