Argentina WRC: Sebastien Loeb cruising towards victory

Sebastien Loeb is cruising towards an eighth Rally Argentina victory with Sebastien Ogier having backed right off.
The gap between Loeb's Citroen and Ogier's Volkswagen is now up to 1m06.9s with just two stages to go.
Having lost time with a puncture and an error on Friday, Ogier decided to let Loeb go as his arch-rival is not a championship threat this year.
That allowed both Frenchmen to take it easy through Saturday's opening loop.
But behind them, the battle for the final podium spot still rages.
VW's Jari-Matti Latvala took both stage victories as he attempts to get third place back from Evgeny Novikov's M-Sport Ford following a Friday puncture.
Novikov was only 0.9s shy of Latvala's pace on the opening Mina Clavero stage, despite his Ford's engine refusing to engage stage mode, leaving him struggling for throttle response.
But Latvala was comfortably faster on El Condor and is now only 3.4s behind.
The only other changes affecting the leading drivers are among the Rally2 returnees at the foot of the top 10, where Dani Sordo has got ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen for ninth as both close on Martin Prokop.

Leading positions after SS12:

Pos  Driver              Team/Car        Time/Gap
 1.  Sebastien Loeb      Citroen       4h04m09.1s
 2.  Sebastien Ogier     VW             + 1m06.9s
 3.  Evgeny Novikov      M-Sport Ford   + 2m33.5s
 4.  Jari-Matti Latvala  VW             + 2m36.9s
 5.  Thierry Neuville    M-Sport Ford   + 4m19.1s
 6.  Mikko Hirvonen      Citroen        + 6m37.6s
 7.  Mads Ostberg        M-Sport Ford  + 10m57.5s
 8.  Martin Prokop       Czech Ford    + 13m17.4s
 9.  Dani Sordo          Citroen       + 13m21.3s
10.  Andreas Mikkelsen   VW            + 13m25.3s

Raikkonen: We must qualify higher up the grid

Kimi Raikkonen says that Lotus must focus on improving their qualifying pace if they are to consistently fight for victories and challenge for the championship.
The Finn has stood on the podium as many times as championship leader Sebastian Vettel this season, but whereas the German has started from the front row in all but one race, Raikkonen has qualified seventh or lower on three occasions - a factor he clearly believes has contributed to his ten-point deficit in the driver standings.
“To catch the leaders we need to work twice as hard as they are,” Raikkonen said. “It’s no secret that we want more speed from the car in qualifying; it’s so tight up there at the front and we really need to be on the first two rows to fight for victories every time.
“For sure we’re in a better position than this time last year, but there’s a long season ahead and it’s too early to say if we can fight for the championships right to the end.
“It’s going to be hard to catch Sebastian if he keeps taking good results so we need to start taking more points from him, but you never know what can happen. We’ll keep pushing to improve the car and see where we end up.”
Like the majority of teams, technical director James Allison has said that Lotus will be running an extensive number of updates on the E21 at next weekend’s Formula 1 Gran Premio de España 2013 at Barcelona.
"Nothing revolutionary, but plenty which should help us go faster,” he confirmed. "We have new front wing endplate detailing, new aero around the rear drums, modifications to the diffuser and a different top rear wing so there's plenty to help keep us in the hunt."

Argentina WRC: Sebastien Ogier pulls away from Sebastien Loeb

Sebastien Ogier stretched his Rally Argentina lead to 16.3 seconds over Sebastien Loeb by the end of Thursday's leg.
Ogier's Volkswagen was quickest on both the loop's stages, stretching away from the Citroens in the process.
But the frustrated Loeb did not feel there was anything more to the deficit than an errant tyre choice on Citroen's part, as its hards proved less compliant than Ogier's softs amid unforeseen drizzle.
Ogier did not have a flawless run, completing the long Asochinga stage with a loss of pressure in a rear tyre and some bodywork damage, but his lead was not jeopardised.
Mikko Hirvonen remains in contention. Although he has lost second place to Loeb, he is only 1.8s behind his team-mate.
Jari-Matti Latvala was very happy with his pace as he took second to team-mate Ogier on SS4, but ended the day peeved when a handbrake issue cost him time on SS5's hairpins, leaving him 41s off the lead.
Mads Ostberg dropped out of fifth place when his M-Sport Ford broke a steering arm on the loop's first stage.
But M-Sport still has a car in fifth as Evgeny Novikov moved past the third VW of Andreas Mikkelsen to take the place.
Myriad dramas for the top-class tailenders mean Dani Sordo is already back in the top 10 after rolling his Citroen in the morning.

Leading positions after SS5:

Pos  Driver              Team/Car        Time/Gap
 1.  Sebastien Ogier     VW            1h57m14.1s
 2.  Sebastien Loeb      Citroen          + 16.3s
 3.  Mikko Hirvonen      Citroen          + 18.1s
 4.  Jari-Matti Latvala  VW               + 40.7s
 5.  Evgeny Novikov      M-Sport Ford   + 1m37.7s
 6.  Andreas Mikkelsen   VW             + 1m55.1s
 7.  Thierry Neuville    M-Sport Ford   + 2m12.5s
 8.  Martin Prokop       Czech Ford     + 6m41.4s
 9.  Gabriel Pozzo       M-Sport Ford  + 10m10.3s
10.  Dani Sordo          Citroen       + 10m32.6s

WRC: Argentina Qualifying

Volkswagen driver Jari-Matti Latvala set fastest time at this morning's Rally Argentina qualifying stage.
Latvala was three hundredths of a second quicker than returning world champion Sebastien Loeb across the 3.75-mile stage just outside Villa Carlos Paz.
"I'm happy with that," smiled Latvala at the end of the stage.
"I made some changes to the car after shakedown this morning - the car felt soft – so we fitted stiffer springs, but we need to go stiffer still. This is a good start."
Quickest after two practice runs in the morning, Loeb admitted to feeling a little rusty when it came to finding the limit in qualifying.
"It didn't feel natural at the start of the stage," Loeb told AUTOSPORT. "I wasn't sure on the braking point, but then it was OK."
Championship leader Sebastien Ogier was third fastest almost three tenths down and ruing one small mistake in the stage.
"I ran wide in one corner," he said, "it's small, but it cost time. The road was very soft and we just slid a little bit more than I thought we would."
Loeb's fellow Citroen drivers Dani Sordo and Mikko Hirvonen were next up with Mads Ostberg the leading M-Sport runner 1.371 seconds down on Latvala's benchmark.
None of the drivers suffered any significant problems through the stage, which determines who will run where on the road for the event's opening leg tomorrow.
Local hero Gabriel Pozzo was slowest of the World Rally Car qualifiers in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta RS WRC, 9.234s off.

Rally Argentina - what can we expect?

 

As location director for the WRC’s TV production team, Steve Turvey is responsible for selecting where the cameras will be positioned in the stages to bring viewers across the globe spectacular footage from all 13 rounds of the season. 

Turvey is a former co-driver and was an integral part of Richard Burns’ championship-winning team in 2001 as one half of the Briton’s gravel crew.

In his current role, Turvey drives the stages before the rally to identify those special locations. wrc.com asked him for his thoughts on Rally Argentina and what we should look out for over the four days of competition. Q. Steve, what are the stages looking like this year?   
ST: "There has been a reasonable amount of rain on most stages so despite the high temperatures of the last few days, the surface is damp in places, with soil and sand coming through. They should dry if there is no more rain, but the forecast suggests there may be thunderstorms over the next couple of days which would keep them damp."
Q. And what conditions are the roads in?
ST: "They are in normal condition for Argentina. Work has been carried out on some sections since last year’s rally, but some have had no attention. In my view this is the roughest round of the championship now. It’s rougher than the Acropolis Rally of Greece because there are big stones poking through the earth and it seems to become worse every year with the passage of the event. The early part of the El Condor stage is already cut up quite badly. It’s going to be very punishing for the cars, with many bumps, two-wheel landings and lots of big stones in the road that are already visible in the recce."
Q. What effect will all this have on the tyres?
ST: "Tyre wear is going to be punishing. Most stages are long, and each group of tests covers almost 80km of competition. Drivers must tackle each group with the same tyres with which they left service, so it will be hard for the rubber. I think each leg is equally tough, but perhaps the first day has the edge. The 52km test from Ascochinga to Agua de Oro is rough with lots of bed rock and that will test tyres to the extreme."
Q. So is pace going to be everything or could a more cautious approach pay dividends?
ST: "I wouldn’t say a driver can win by being cautious, but that tactic can certainly bring a good result. The leaders will have to drive flat out as always, but for someone like Martin Prokop, caution could pay off. I could see him being there with a chance of a top three result by keeping out of trouble."
Q. Argentina is renowned for its huge crowds and passionate fans. It really generates a great atmosphere doesn’t it?
ST: "It does – and this year will be no different. I drove the stages on Monday and there were already people camping out by the roadside in the El Condor stage. Some told me they had been there for two or three days already to ensure the best position. And the rally doesn’t go through there until Saturday!"