WRC 2008 Rally Argentina

[flying finn]

WRC 2008 Rally Argentina

Total Kms : 1619.45 km
Liaison : 1271.54 km
SS Kms : 347.91 km
Special Stages : 21

Friday 28.03 > 9 stages (150.86 km)
Saturday 29.03 > 9 stages (154.38 km)
Sunday 30.03 > 3 stages (42.67 km)

home page > http://www.rallyargentina.com/english/
itinerary > http://www.rallyargentina.com/downloads/cronograma.pdf
entry list > http://www.rallyargentina.com/english/inscriptos.php
rally guide (18.31MB PDF) > http://www.rallyargentina.com/downloads/guia-ingles.pdf

Citroen preview > http://www.rallye-info.com/article.asp?sid=0&stid=6834
Ford preview > http://www.rallye-info.com/article.asp?sid=0&stid=6833
Subaru preview > http://www.rallye-info.com/article.asp?sid=0&stid=6832
Stobart preview > http://www.rallye-info.com/article.asp?sid=0&stid=6835

Championship Standings
1. Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) > 21 pts
2. Sébastien Loeb (F) > 20 pts
3. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) > 16 pts
4. Chris Atkinson (AUS) > 14 pts
5. Gigi Galli (I) > 9 pts
6. Petter Solberg (N) > 9 pts
7. François Duval (B) > 5 pts
8. Henning Solberg (N) > 4 pts
9. Andreas Mikkelsen (N) > 4 pts
10. Matthew Wilson (GB) > 3 pts
11. Daniel Sordo (E) > 3 pts
12. Toni Gardemeister (FIN) > 2 pts
13. Jean-Marie Cuoq (F) > 2 pts
14. Federico Villagra (RA) > 2 pts
15. Per-Gunnar Andersson (S) > 1 pts
16. Juho Hänninen (FIN) > 1 pts
17. Sebastien Ogier (F) > 1 pts

[BertMk2]

I'd expect Loeb to win this one

More interesting I think will be the battle between Hirvonen and Latvala I'm hoping the Subarus are competitive here too so at last there'll be something to keep an eye on.

[zac510]

Feels like it's been a long time between rallies!

[tux]

Whats going on with subaru this year? Last year they were no where with there car and this year there constantly fighting for podiums.

[GolddustMini]

over the course of the last year ive become quite an atkinson supporter, hes driven very well this year, getting a 3rd and a 2nd already within 3 rallies and currently doing well in argentina, he seems to have matured, found more consistent speed and stopped trashing cars at the rate he used to.

good to see them back in the hunt and i hope to see a few wins before the end of the year (christ WRC needs more consistent winners and that means that we need a winner from subaru bring more variation to the small wrc feild

[flying finn]

WRC 2008 Rally Argentina - Results

1. Sebastien Loeb (F) > Citroen C4 > 5:05:48.6 (+0.00.0)
2. Chris Atkinson (AUS) > Subaru Impreza > 5:08:21.8 (+2:33.2)
3. Daniel Sordo (E) > Citroen C4 > 5:09:53.3 (+4:04.7)
4. Conrad Rautenbach (ZW) > Citroen C4 > 5:25:52.1 (+20:03.5)
5. Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) > Ford Focus > 5:31:03.9 (+25:15.3)
6. Federico Villagra (RA) > Ford Focus > 5:33:30.6 (+ 27:42.0)
7. Gigi Galli (I) > Ford Focus > 5:33:40.4 (+27:51.8)
8. Andreas Aigner (A) > Mitsubishi Lancer > 5:34:47.9 (+28:59.3)
9. Sebasitan Beltran (RA) > Mitsubishi Lancer > 5:35:53.5 (+30:04.9)
10. Jari Ketomaa (FIN) > Subaru Impreza > 5:37:41.2 (+31:52.6)
15. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) > Ford Focus > 5:55:01.8 (+49:13.2)
24. Per-Gunnar Andersson (S) > Suzuki SX4 > 6:18:21.5 (+1:12:32.9)

DNF. Luis Perez Companc (RA) > Ford Focus > SS 9 (suspension)
DNF. Petter Solberg (N) > Subaru Impreza > SS 19 (electrical)
DNF. Henning Solberg (N) > Ford Focus > SS 19 (suspension)
DNF. Toni Gardemeister (FIN) > Suzuki SX4 > SS 20 (suspension)

Championship Standings

1. Sébastien Loeb (F) > 30 pts
2. Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) > 25 pts
3. Chris Atkinson (AUS) > 22 pts
4. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) > 16 pts
5. Gigi Galli (I) > 11 pts
6. Daniel Sordo (E) > 9 pts
7. Petter Solberg (N) > 9 pts
8. Conrad Rautenbach (ZW) > 5 pts
9. François Duval (B) > 5 pts
10. Federico Villagra (RA) > 5 pts

Chris Atkinson's excellent 2nd place gives him a third podium in the first four rallies.

[BertMk2]

Impressive showing from the Citroens as a whole really although the Subarus appeared to be keeping them honest ( Subaru back at the sharp end! ). Shame Solbergs electrics went duff and robbed Subaru of another podium to go with Atkinsons.

[gomick]

another loeb win - is this bloke really that good or is it the car .... his record is freakish!

badluck for solberg, good drive by atko

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by gomick

another loeb win - is this bloke really that good or is it the car

Currently it looks like the Citroen, Ford and Subaru are fairly well matched (if they stay reliable - which is the Subarus downfall). As far as the drivers go Loeb and Solberg are the class of the field - the others don't come close (although Latvala looks like he has the potential, possibly Hirvonen too).

Essentially what we're seeing is the lack of depth of the WRC field at the moment giving us highly predictable results.