Belgian Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) took the lead in Rally Argentina, fifth round of the 2019 World Championship, seconded by Frenchman Sébastien Ogier (Citroën C3) and Estonian Ott Tänak (Toyota).
Neuville, the current leader of the World Championship, leads Ogier by almost 12 seconds and Tänak by 13.4 seconds.
Tänak had been dominating the Rally that takes place in the province of Córdoba until the seventh stage (SS7), but in the eighth stage (SS8) he suffered a mechanical problem in his Toyota and lost 24 seconds against Neuville, who took the lead.
The third special (SS3) was canceled this Friday morning for safety reasons, due to the poor conditions of the route after the rains in recent days.
Classification of Rally Argentina after Friday’s session and the first eight special stages:
1. Thierry Neuville-Nicolas Gilsoul (BEL / Hyundai i20) 1h11: 13.9
2. Sébastien Ogier-Julien Ingrassia (FRA / Citroën C3) at 11.9
3. Ott Tänak-Martin Järveoja (EST / Toyota Yaris) at 13.4
4. Kris Meeke-Sébastien Marshall (GBR / Toyota Yaris) to 28.1
5. Andreas Mikkelsen-Anders Jaeger (NOR / Hyundai i20) at 29.4
6. Elfyn Evans-Scott Martin (GBR / Ford Fiesta) at 38.2
7. Dani Sordo-Carlos del Barrio (ESP / Hyundai i20) at 41.1
8. Teemu Suninen-Marko Salminen (FIN / Ford Fiesta) at 1: 59.2
9. Jari-Matti Latvala-Mikka Anttila (FIN / Toyota Yaris) at 2: 02.9
10. Mads Ostberg-Torstein Eriksen (NOR / Citroën C3) at 6: 11.1
Best times in the specials:
Ott Tänak (ES1, ES6, ES7), Kris Meeke (ES2), Thierry Neuville (ES4, ES8), Andreas Mikkelsen (ES5). ES3 canceled. AFP