BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Sebastien Loeb of France drove his Citroen to nearly a minute lead in the Rally Argentina on Saturday and looked set to win his fifth straight race to start the world championship.
Loeb was 58.6 seconds ahead of teammate Dani Sordo of Spain, and 1:40 in front of third-place Jari-Matti Latvala of Finland through 18 stages.
Barring an unlikely mishap on the short final day Sunday, Loeb will continue his perfect start to the season after victories in Ireland, Norway, Cyprus and Portugal.
Mikko Hirvonen of Finland, second in the overall standings, was forced to retire on the third-to-last stage of the day after his Ford engine overheated just when he closed within 7 seconds of Loeb.
“It was really a good fight with Mikko, so I was disappointed when he went out because now the race is not the same,” Loeb said.
“Also, when it comes to the championship, if we can finish like this then there will be a big gap — so that’s not so nice. Tomorrow the most important thing for me is to keep the car on the road. We have a big lead over Dani so we don’t have to take big risks.”
Starting 18.6 seconds and third behind first-day leader Sordo, Loeb was fastest through all four morning stages to grab a midday lead of 7.3 seconds ahead of Hirvonen.
Hirvonen won the first afternoon stage to cut a second off Loeb’s lead, but then his engine overheated and he was forced to slow down to reach the finish of the 15th stage. He withdrew in the next stage as Loeb and Sordo maintained their 1-2 lead.
1. Sebastien Loeb, France, Citroen, 3 hours, 26 minutes, 3.7 seconds
2. Dani Sordo, Spain, Citroen, 58.6 seconds behind
3. Jari-Matti Latvala, Finland, Ford, 1 minute, 40.1 seconds
4. Petter Solberg, Norway, Citroen, 2:40.3
5. Henning Solberg, Norway, Ford, 3:24.0
6. Federico Villagra, Argentina, Ford, 5:09.0
7. Matthew Wilson, Britain, Ford, 5:27.0
8. Mikko Hirvonen, Finland, Ford, 15:57.6
9. Nasser Al Attiyah, Qatar, Subaru, 19:45.0
10. Sebastien Ogier, France, Citroen, 20:19.3
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
