Sunday PWRC wrap: Double joy for Guerra

Benito Guerra has moved into the lead of the Production Car World Rally Championship drivers’ standings with his second victory of the season on Philips Rally Argentina.

The Mexican set out with the intention of avoiding taking any big risks in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. While he and co-driver Borja Rozada were not always the fastest combination, their consistency ensured maximum points in the showroom division.

“I’m really, really happy with my second win and my first victory outside of Mexico,” said Guerra. “There were several times when I felt I needed to race to be faster but not in Argentina. I had to be very calm to keep the car in one piece for the long, long days. I did this and now with two wins I am the leader of the championship and can dream of being world champion.”

Overnight leader Nicolas Fuchs fell to second following a torrid run through Sunday’s opening 65.74-kilometre test when his Lancer was struck down by turbo, brake and clutch problems, the latter causing trouble during the closing stages as well.

“I tried to repair the car but I don’t know what happened,” said the Peruvian, who secured the runner-up spot.

Valeriy Gorban finished third for the Mentos Ascania Racing team despite fears of a gearbox leak on the final morning.

Marcos Ligato finished fourth after restarting under Rally 2 rules on Saturday morning. The Argentine had been in contention for victory until he suffered suspension problems on Friday.

“We got good points but the result was not what we wanted,” said the Subaru Impreza driver. “But we were fast and we won a lot of stages.”

Gianluca Linari finished fifth with Argentine wildcard entrant Ezequiel Campos claiming sixth place. Indonesia Subhan Aksa, who is returning to the PWRC for the first time in four seasons, restarted under Rally 2 on Sunday following his crash on Saturday. He finished seventh with Italian Lorenzo Bertelli eighth.

Erstwhile points leader Michal Kosciuszko dropped out with engine failure on day two.