That Sebastien Ogier leads at the end of the opening leg of the Rally Argentina is also due to the diligence of Volkswagen Motorsports weather crew. While the opposition in the Citron team obviously banked on sunshine and went into the afternoon loop on hard tyres, Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala selected a mix of hard and soft rubberthe weather crew having predicted light rain. The result of the 27-kilometre-long SS Santa CatalinaLa Pampa: Best time for Ogier, four seconds ahead of Latvala.
En route to SS5 both Volkswagen drivers swapped their soft front tyres for two hards carried as spares. This mixture performed perfectly, said Ogier at the stage finish after rain fell during the second half of the stage. Although he was forced to grapple with a flat tyre during the closing stages of the test, Ogier still managed to beat world champion Loeb by 3,8 seconds to extend his overall lead to 16,3 seconds. That is not much, warned the Frenchman. There are still almost 250 kilometres to go; a lot can still happen.
However, Latvala suffered bad luck. His damaged handbrake made life difficult, particularly during the second part of SS5. We faced a dozen hairpins downhill, which was not pleasant without a handbrake, explained the Finn. The weather also slightly affected Andreas Mikkelsen, contesting his second event with the Polo R WRC. In parts it was so misty you could see maybe 20 metres, said the Norwegian. But where the notes fitted perfectly it was really a lot of fun to drive under these conditions.
Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #7 It was a day of highs and lows for us. In terms of speed, we were usually up there with the best todaylike in the first and third stages. I was a bit too fast at one point in the second stage and hit a stone. I was lucky and was able to keep going, but my handbrake stopped working afterwards which is important because we use it to throw the car around hairpin bends. On top of that, the tyres were really starting to flag at the end of that stage. Once my crew had done a great job of servicing the car, everything went according to plan again, but the handbrake played up again in the fourth stage. I lost a bit of time on the hairpin bends. I could have made more of today, so Im not 100% happy.
Sbastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #8Were very pleased with the way the rally is going for us so far. Winning the first special stage right at the start of a day is a great feeling, of course. We were catching up Dani Sordo in the second stage, which cost us a bit of time, but thats all part of rallying. In the afternoon, we chose four soft and two hard Michelin tyres, which was far from being the worst decision we could have made. Being in front after such a tough day is greatnow were concentrating on the rest of the rally. After all, weve got several long and difficult stages ahead of us.
Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9Hazy weather and fog in the morning twinned with four extremely long, physically challenging special stagesthe Rally Argentina didnt make things particularly easy for us today. High levels of humidity and soaring temperatures in the cockpit demanded absolute fitness. We worked on our communication today and tried out our new pace notes for the first time. Everything is moving in the right direction: our times are getting better and I feel more comfortable in the Polo R WRC with every metre. Were delighted with our placing toowed love to keep it up over the next two days, of course.
Top 10 After Day 1
Pos./Driver/Car/Time
1. S. Ogier /J. Ingrassia /Volkswagen/Polo R WRC/1:57:14.12. S. Loeb /D. Elena /Citroen /DS3 WRC/1:57:30.43. M. Hirvonen /J. Lehtinen/Citroen/DS3 WRC/1:57:32.24. J. Latvala / M. Anttila /Volkswagen/Polo R WRC/1:57:54.85. E. Novikov /I. Minor /Ford /Fiesta RS WRC/1:58:51.86. A. Mikkelsen / M. Markkula /Volkswagen /Polo R WRC/1:59:09.27. T. Neuville /N. Gilsoul/Ford/Fiesta RS WRC/1:59:26.68. M. Prokop /M. Ernst/Ford /Fiesta RS WRC/2:03:55.59. G. Pozzo /D. Stillo /Ford /Fiesta RS WRC/2:07:24.410 D. Sordo /C. Del Barrio /Citroen/DS3 WRC/2:07:46.7
