Sebastien Loeb kept a 7.8 seconds lead over his teammate Mikko Hirvonen after Citroen ordered the pair to maintain their positions during Day 2 of the 2012 Rally Argentina.
A battle had been boiling between the two drivers, but with no genuine threat from closest rival Dani Sordo, which forced Citroen to ask them to hold their positions.
Dani Sordo suffered a puncture into SS11 which cost him over a minute off the lead, but still held a comfortable 3rd position from 4th placed Mads Ostberg.
Nasser Al Attiyah’s hopes of a strong finish ended as the Qatari driver broke his Citroen’s suspension, and eventually had to retire, elevating Martin Prokop to 5th.
Sebastien Ogier overtook his teammate Andreas Mikkelsen for 6th, as both S2000 drivers now hold reassuring positions.
Thierry Neuville flew past Armindo Araujo who struggled throughout the day, and is now under heavy threat from 10th placed Petter Solberg.
Positions after SS12:
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen 3h52m45.7s 2. Mikko Hirvonen Citroen + 7.8s 3. Dani Sordo Ford + 1m48.3s 4. Mads Ostberg Adapta Ford + 2m55.5s 5. Martin Prokop Czech Ford + 9m16.0s 6. Sebastien Ogier VW Skoda + 10m20.1s 7. Andreas Mikkelsen VW Skoda + 10m25.9s 8. Thierry Neuville Citroen Junior + 11m53.7s 9. Armindo Araujo Portugal Mini + 14m09.3s 10. Petter Solberg Ford + 14m09.9s