Rally: Hyundai wins thriller in Argentina (with spectacular video)
RALLY With the third closest decision in the history of the World Rally Championship, Hyundai with Thierry Neuville became the first WRC team to win for the second time this season. His lead over Ford driver Evans at the finish was less than one second! For two days, Elfyn Evans in one of M-Sport's three Ford Fiesta WRCs seemed close to his first victory in [...]
For two days, Elfyn Evans seemed to be driving towards his first victory in the World Rally Championship in one of M-Sport's three Ford Fiesta WRCs. On Saturday's second stage, his lead was a good one minute.
The Welshman tackled the final stage with a lead of just 11.5 seconds. Due to minor problems with the technology and the handling of his car, this melted down to six tenths of a second by the time of the all-important Power Stage over 16.3 km.
The Belgian Thierry Neuville had his little problems with the Hyundai i20 on the first day and then started an impressive race to catch up. The German-speaking Belgian finished the race after 3h 38 min. of SS driving time as the winner with a lead of seven tenths of a second. Only two other world championship rounds have ended more narrowly.
For once, Sébastien Ogier did not make much of an appearance. On the one hand, as the leader in the WRC standings, he had to be the first to take to the gravel tracks and thus assume the thankless role of "road wiper". For another, the world champion complained of a strange feeling with his Ford Fiesta, which did not give him enough confidence to seriously attack.
As a result, the Frenchman remained without a podium finish for once, but with 102 points he is still ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala (86), who finished fifth in his Toyota Yaris, and two-time season winner Thierry Neuville with 84 points.
Spectacular summary in WRC video
If Neuville had not retired while leading the first two rallies in Monte Carlo and Sweden, the standings would now look different.
The Citroën team experienced a total breakdown. Kris Meeke caused two rollovers, which can be seen in the summary video of the Rally Argentina thanks to the inboard camera.
It's also easy to see where Elfyn Evans ultimately missed out on his first WRC victory: "I slightly grazed the entrance to a narrow bridge. That was probably a bigger time loss than the seven tenths at the finish."
https://www.redbullcontentpool.com/fiawrc/AP-1R3JBMA7N1W11?wtk=amc143446555930551
