Hyundai Motorsport finds itself firmly in the hunt for victory in Rally Argentina this weekend after a much stronger performance on Saturday saw Thierry Neuville reduce the gap to leader Elfyn Evans to just 11.5 seconds.
Alongside co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul, Neuville took two more stage wins (one shared with Ott Tanak) on Saturday, including a dominant performance in the final stage – the second run through Boca del Arroyo-Bajo del Pungo. They will head into the last morning holding second place and with positive momentum as they chase a consecutive victory after Tour de Corse.
Kiwi WRC driver Hayden Paddon and his co-driver John Kennard are in sixth place after completing six special stages on Saturday (ART) at Rally Argentina, with the Mads Ostberg’s . A broken rear roll bar delayed the pair, and they incurred a 1 minute time penalty for being late into a time control checkpoint. Despite that, Paddon is pretty happy with his pace as he secured two third-fastest stage times to wrap up the day.
“Not too bad a day today,” said Paddon following Saturday’s competitive stages. “This morning we had to battle with a bit of road cleaning, so we were quite happy with our speed considering. This afternoon we wanted to push and be a bit more competitive, but unfortunately a broken rear roll bar sort of put a damper on that and we had to do the best with what we had. We know where the pace is and we’re quite happy with the speed considering. We’re back on the pace and that gives us a bit of confidence moving forward to tomorrow and future gravel rallies. We’re back up to or close to the level we want to be.”
All set for a thriller
Saturday’s schedule included a total of six stages, a repeated loop of the 20.80km Tanti-Villa Bustos, 38.68km Los Gigantes – Cantera El Condor and 20.52km Boca del Arroyo – Bajo del Punto tests. The day wasn’t without its challenges but it was a far more confident and representative performance by all three Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team crews.
With Neuville chasing down the rally leader, while also looking to defend his own position from Ott Tanak, Sunday is set to be a thriller. Rally Argentina has already proven itself to be a rally of attrition; so all eyes will be on the concluding three stages to see what will happen next.
Sunday at a Glance
Three challenging stages remain on the final day of Rally Argentina, totalling 55.28km.
The 16.32 El Condor – Copina test will get things underway followed by the equally demanding 22.64km Mina Clavero – Giulio Cesare.
The iconic El Condor will create a thrilling final Power Stage with all still to play for and plenty of points up for grabs.
Overall Classification after Day Two
1 E. Evans D. Barritt Ford Fiesta WRC 2:53:45.7
2 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +11.5
3 O. Tanak M. Jarveoja Ford Fiesta WRC +26.8
4 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRC +49.9
5 J. M. Latvala M. Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC +1:24.6
6 H. Paddon J. Kennard Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +4:26.7
7 J. Hänninen K. Lindstrom Toyota Yaris WRC +9:34.3
8 L. Bertelli S. Scattolin Ford Fiesta WRC +12:10.0
9 D. Sordo M. Martí Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +13:26.8
10 P. Tidemand J. Andersson Škoda Fabia R5 +13:57.5
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