Three-way drift battle in Argentina – and Latvala is in the lead

Volkswagen against Hyundai, Latvala vs. Ogier and Paddon – the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) delivered its fans in Argentina a hotly contested battle for the lead. After 152 of 365 kilometres of special stages, Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) in the Volkswagen Polo R WRC lead the standings – just 7.9 seconds ahead of their Volkswagen team-mates Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), and a further 3.5 seconds ahead of Hayden Paddon/John Kennard (NZ/NZ, Hyundai). Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger (N/N) in the third World Rally Car from Wolfsburg are in fourth place after the first full day of the competition – thereby poised to pounce on a podium finish.

The first day of the Rally Argentina was characterised by the gravelly tracks of the special stages "Soconcho–Villa del Dique", "Amboy–Santa Mónica" and "Santa Rosa–San Agustín", on which a combination of calculated risk and careful handling of the car were called for.

Quotes, day 01 Argentina

Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1

"Julien and I couldn’t get any more out of today - we were right at the limit. I’m very pleased with what we achieved. To be honest, I expected to lose more time to the top at the start of the rally. Which is why I wasn’t feeling very optimistic at the lunch break. However, the conditions in the afternoon were better than I thought they would be. The track profiles are spectacular and so much fun. And the Polo R WRC was on top form. Julien and I will give it our all to be in with a chance of getting our first win in Argentina right down to the wire."

Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2

"I am very pleased with the first full day here in Argentina. The main thing was to get a feel for the conditions and slowly pick up the pace. I built up a small lead stage by stage. We’ll try to continue this tomorrow. My team-mate Sébastien Ogier and Hayden Paddon in the Hyundai are really fast and it is an exciting competition. Nothing is decided yet, but like I said, I am really pleased with the first day."

Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9

"I purposely started the Rally Argentina cautiously and always gave myself a bit of breathing space. I have always been fast here – but I’ve not managed to avoid setbacks on my four starts so far. Naturally I want to change that this time. I like the stages, and am enjoying the tracks – particularly because my Polo is set up perfectly and is running like clockwork. We’ve laid a good foundation for a top result today and are in with a chance of finishing on the podium."

Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director

"Friday in Argentina showed just how exciting the WRC is. A closely fought manufacturer’s battle has developed between Volkswagen and Hyundai, and Latvala, Ogier and Paddon are embroiled in a thrilling three-way driver’s battle. There’s no way of telling who is going to come out on top in the end. But we are not only in a good position with Jari-Matti and Sébastien, there’s Andreas Mikkelsen too. Like his team-mates, he has adopted a clever, forward-looking and fast pace, and is ready to pounce on a podium position. Everyone in the team will be on high alert for the rest of the rally to make sure things continue to go so well."