SS7: Loeb sets the pace

Sebastien Loeb has extended his lead of Philips Rally Argentina to 3.9s by winning Saturday’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. “Today I have to push and risk to get up to the high points,” said the Norwegian. “We just have to keep going.”

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 he’d expected, despite overnight rain.

Thierry Neuville, another driver running under Rally 2 regulations, was fifth quickest. He said: “We have shown our speed but now we need to find a good rhythm to stay on the road and don’t do mistakes. We had soft tyres on the rear and the car was sliding a lot.”

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 “very tricky”.

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.