Sebastien Ogier (Volkswagen Polo R WRC), champion for the last three years and leader of this edition of the World Championship, and Dani Sordo (Hyundai i20 WRC) were equaled in the first position of the Rally Argentina after the dispute of the first superspecial for the streets of Córdoba, barely 1.5 kilometers long.
With a time of 1 minute and 29 seconds, the French and Spanish were level on a podium completed by Estonian Ott Tanak (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) just one tenth behind.
The note of this picturesque short route through the city of Cordoba was that of the Finn Jari-Matti Latvala who made a mistake that left him 3.7 seconds behind the leaders after completing this first day.
Latvala, recent winner of the last round in Mexico, will try to make up ground and lost time from the second day of Rally Argentina, which this year celebrates its 36th edition.
Ogier, who leads the championship after his victories in Monte Carlo and Sweden and second place in Mexico, arrives in the Cordoba mountains to fulfill his pending account: winning in Argentina.
The Hyundai i20 WRCs of Thierry Neuville and Hayden Paddon completed the first five positions after this superspecial, after falling 0.3 and 0.7 seconds respectively.
Last year, in a rugged edition, the unexpected winner of the only South American event on the 2016 calendar had been the British Kris Meeke, with Citröen.
Rally Argentina was held for the first time in 1980, but after its only cancellation in 1982, it was installed in 1984 at its current location in Villa Carlos Paz, located 700 kilometers from Buenos Aires, after a short stay in Bariloche, in the Patagonia Argentina.
This edition of Rally Argentina will cover 364.68 kilometers, with 18 stages and the service park located in Villa Carlos Paz.
The second day of the Rally tomorrow will feature two passes through Soconcho (24.71 kilometers), Amboy (20.44 kilometers) and Santa Rosa (23.85 kilometers) in the morning and in the afternoon, and is finished with two super specials in the Theme Park (6.04 kilometers). Many of these tracks located in the Calamuchita valley were not widely used in the last years of this Argentine test.
The itinerary on Saturday, meanwhile, was significantly modified due to the lack of adaptation of the sections originally selected by the organizers of the event. As a result, the action will be focused closer to Villa Carlos Paz with the reduced distance.
On the last day of the rally, on Sunday, it will travel through rocky and mountain sections in Traslasierra, with Mina Clavero-Giulio Cesare (22.64 kilometers) and the legendary El Cóndor (16.32 kilometers), which in its second pass will be the ‘ Power Stage ‘. EFE
Sebastien Ogier and Dani Sordo even after the first special in Argentina
