April 25, 2015 – Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle secured three stage wins in their DS 3 WRC as they ended day one of Rally Argentina leading the overall standings while their team-mates in the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, Mads Østberg and Jonas Andersson, finished the event’s longest leg right behind them in second position. On their first competitive outing of the season in the DS 3 WRC, Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi and Chris Patterson lie eighth overall.
After the shakedown was held on Wednesday afternoon, most of Thursday was devoted to a road section to San Luis for the opening test, a city-centre super special stage. The run offered the Citroën Total World Rally Team crews the chance to get their rally underway before tackling Friday’s long stages…
The 51.99-kilometre long Agua de Oro/Ascochinga test was expected to provide the first real clues as to the pecking order of the crews. However, the difficulties of the route decimated the WRC field. Sébastien Ogier retired, whilst Andreas Mikkelsen and Thierry Neuville lost ground. Despite the tough conditions, Kris Meeke set the fastest time to move into the overall lead, with Mads Østberg grabbing fourth place.
Slowed by a puncture on SS3, the Northern Irishman saw his lead cut in half, whilst Mads Østberg moved up to third overall.
After the thirty-minute midday service period, Kris Meeke continued to forge ahead. Particularly quick on the long stage, he extended his advantage over second-placed Jari-Matti Latvala and Mads Østberg, who consolidated his third place.
Even quicker on Villa Bustos/Tanti 2, Kris Meeke ended the first leg – the longest of the rally – with a lead of over a minute on Mads Østberg. The Norwegian moved ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala into second place on the final stage of the day.
Today’s leg features four timed stages, contested over a total of 131.2 kilometres. An early start awaits the crews – Parc Ferme opens at 6.20am, with service periods in Carlos Paz at 12.31pm and 6.57pm. The running order will be the same as today.
STANDINGS AFTER DAY 2
1. Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (DS 3 WRC) 1:44:47.8
2. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson (DS 3 WRC) +1:08.4
3. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) +1:23.5
4. Dani Sordo/Marc Marti (Hyundai i20 WRC) +1:54.2
5. Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +1:59.7
6. Martin Prokop/Jan Tomanek (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +3:27.4
7. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) +5:06.2
8. Khalid Al Qassimi/Chris Patterson (DS 3 WRC) +6:01.8