This sixth round of the 16-rally series was based in Córdoba, 700km north of Buenos Aires. Three days of demanding gravel speed tests across the vast pampas covered 351.44km, and fog and rain yesterday posed an additional challenge to drivers. A spectacular purpose-built super special stage in Córdoba's soccer stadium started the competition on Thursday night and brought it to a close today, attracting more than 40,000 fans and a huge live worldwide TV audience on each occasion.
Today's final leg opened with two of the championship's most famous special stages. The rough and rocky Giulio Cesare and El Condor are unlike anything else encountered during the season. Narrow ribbons of road wind through a spectacular moonlike landscape, reaching 2195 metres.
Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) claimed his fourth consecutive victory to widen his championship lead to 21 points. The Frenchman cruised through the final day to head Petter Solberg (Subaru) by 44.6sec. The Norwegian was penalised 10 seconds on the penultimate stage for a jump start. Gigi Galli (Peugeot) secured his first WRC podium on only his second rally in the car. Manfred Stohl (Peugeot) overtook team-mate Henning Solberg on the opening stage this morning to ensure fourth and a happy birthday for Austrian co-driver Ilka Minor. However, with fifth secure, Solberg stopped on the final stage in Córdoba stadium with a broken clutch and dropped to seventh. Chris Atkinson (Subaru) was handed a 60 second penalty last night for speeding in the service park, which dropped him to seventh. He closed the gap to Dani Sordo (Citroen) to just 1.1sec before the final super special stages but the Spaniard held on to take fifth following Solberg's troubles.
Nineteen-year-old Matthew Wilson scored his first WRC stage win when he was fastest on the final stage. Driving a privately-entered Focus RS for the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team, Wilson and co-driver Michael Orr went into the final two stadium tests 3.0sec behind team-mates Luis Perez Companc and Jose-Maria Volta. But the Briton's pace moved him ahead into eighth, earning his first WRC drivers' point.
Ford extended its record-breaking run of points finishes in the FIA World Rally Championship to 66 when Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen finished 10th on Rally Argentina today. The Finns recovered from first-day transmission troubles while leading to climb back onto the leaderboard and claim a manufacturer point to extend the longest scoring run in the history of the FIA World Rally Championship.
The run dates back to the opening round of the 2002 series in Monte Carlo and all 66 points finishes have been achieved with a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car.
Next round
The championship moves back to Europe for round seven with the second of three consecutive gravel events. The Mediterranean island of Sardinia hosts the Rally d'Italia Sardegna, which is based in Olbia on 18 - 21 May.
Final positions 1. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen Xsara 4hr 06min 51.3sec 2. P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza 4hr 07min 35.9sec 3. G Galli/G Bernacchini I Peugeot 307 4hr 10min 15.6sec 4. M Stohl/I Minor A Peugeot 307 4hr 10min 31.3sec 5. D Sordo/M Marti E Citroen Xsara 4hr 12min 31.5sec 6. C Atkinson/G MacNeall AUS Subaru Impreza 4hr 12min 35.1sec 7. H Solberg/C Menkerud N Peugeot 307 4hr 16min 20.0sec 8. M Wilson/M Orr GB Ford Focus RS 4hr 17min 25.9sec 9. L Perez Companc/J-M Volta ARG Ford Focus RS 4hr 17min 43.6sec 10 M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Ford Focus RS 4hr 21min 00.0sec
FIA World Rally Championship (after round 6 of 16) Drivers 1. S Loeb 56pts 2. M Grönholm 35pts 3. D Sordo 24pts 4. P Solberg 18pts 5. M Stohl 18pts 6. G Galli 11pts 9. M Hirvonen 7pts
Manufacturers 1. Kronos Citroen 69pts 2. BP-Ford 57pts 3. Subaru 51pts 4. OMV - Peugeot Norway 31pts 5. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford 15pts 6. Red-Bull Skoda 11pts
Stage Times
Stage 19: 1. Stohl 17min 03.2sec; 2. P Solberg + 4.2; 3. Grönholm + 4.7; 4. Loeb + 7.5; 5. Atkinson + 14.1; 6. Sordo + 22.8.
Overall: 1. Loeb 3hr 48min 14.3sec; 2. P Solberg + 39.8; 3. Galli + 3:05.3; 4. Stohl + 3:33.6; 5. H Solberg + 3:56.2; 6. Sordo + 5:19.3; 10. Grönholm + 14.18.0.
Stage 20: 1. P Solberg 13min 40.2sec; 2. Grönholm + 0.8; 3. Loeb + 6.9; 4. Stohl + 8.8; 5. Atkinson + 10.9; 6. Sordo + 19.8.
Overall: 1. Loeb 4hr 02min 01.4sec; 2. P Solberg + 32.9; 3. Galli + 3:19.4; 4. Stohl + 3:35.5; 5. H Solberg + 4:32.4; 6. Sordo + 5:32.2; 10. Grönholm + 14.11.9.
Stage 21: 1. Grönholm 2min 22.5sec; 2. Pons + 1.3; 3. P Solberg + 2.4; 4. Loeb + 2.9; 5. Wilson + 3.9; 6. Galli + 4.0. Overall: 1. Loeb 4hr 04min 26.8sec; 2. P Solberg + 42.4; 3. Galli + 3:20.5; 4. Stohl + 3:38.3; 5. H Solberg + 4:35.7; 6. Sordo + 5:35.8; 10. Grönholm + 14.09.0.
Stage 22: 1. Wilson 2min 23.7sec; 2. Grönholm + 0.5; 3. Loeb + 0.8; 4. Pons + 1.5; 5. Stohl + 2.5; 6. MacHale + 2.7. Overall: 1. Loeb 4hr 06min 51.3sec; 2. P Solberg + 44.6; 3. Galli + 3:24.3; 4. Stohl + 3:40.0; 5. Sordo + 5:40.2; 6. Atkinson + 5:43.8; 10. Grönholm + 14.08.7.
