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| RallyeNewsletter 2009 Rally Argentina : WRC Round 5 of 12 : 24th - 26th April In this issue: 1. Final Unofficial Leaderboard 2. Final News 4. Final Team by Team News 5. Championship Points 6. Next Event 7. Subscription Information 1. Final Unofficial Leaderboard 1. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen C4 3hr 57min 40.3sec 2. D Sordo/M Marti ESP Citroen C4 3hr 58min 53.4sec 3. H Solberg/C Menkerud NOR Ford Focus RS 4hr 01min 44.4sec 4. F Villagra/J Perez Companc ARG Ford Focus RS 4hr 03min 40.0sec 5. M Wilson/S Martin GBR Ford Focus RS 4hr 03min 51.2sec 6. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 4hr 07min 30.3sec 7. N Al-Attiyah/G Bernacchini QAT Subaru Impreza 4hr 20min 51.9sec 8. J Marchetto/J Diaz ARG Mitsubishi Lancer 4hr 21min 14.6sec 9. S Ogier/J Ingrassia FRA Citroen C4 4hr 21min 34.2sec 10 M Ligato/R Garcia ARG Mitsubishi Lancer 4hr 23min 04.8sec 2. Final News Sebastien Loeb and Dani Sordo recorded a perfect one-two finish for Citroen World Rally Team in Argentina this weekend as rivals Ford faltered on the mountainous stages. Stobart driver Henning Solberg was the first Focus home in 3rd. 4. Team by Team News BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila finished sixth on Rally Argentina today after bouncing back from a final day drama. The Finns were on course for third in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car until they lost an agonising eight minutes on this morning's opening speed test which dropped them to seventh. However, they battled back to claim their second points finish of the FIA World Rally Championship season after a hot, rough and dusty fifth round. #3 : Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: Retired leg two (engine) #4 : Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: "There are no scratches on the car and it was a positive weekend for us. I feel much stronger after this rally and I've learned a lot. I drove cautiously, adopting a different style, and it was successful. Our pace notes worked well and I feel everything is on course, my self-confidence is good again. It was good to learn what can and can't be done and to know my limits," Citroen Total World Rally Team http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1 A perfectly-paced display from the Citroën Total World Rally Team on the 2009 Rally Argentina has produced another one-two finish for the French squad, while the faultless drive of Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena has taken their personal score to five straight wi! ns on the South American round. Dani Sordo and Marc Marti finished in their teammates' wake to move into second place in the provisional Drivers' World Championship standings. #1 : Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: It's always nice to win this rally. This year's event was difficult to begin with and we had to drive flat out until Saturday lunchtime. The situation then tipped in our favour when Mikko Hirvonen hit trouble and we were able to control from in front after that. That said, I tried to keep up a quick pace all the way to the finish because it can be so easy to make a mistake over a jump, or by clouting one of the countless rocks that line the stages here. It's been a dream start to the season for us!" #2 : Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti: "I felt comfortable throughout the weekend. This is our second one-two finish of the year and it's a great result for the whole team. My intention now is to defend my second place in the championship…" Stobart VK M-Sport Ford World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team romped to their best result since Rally Japan in 2007 as Henning Solberg achieved his first podium of 2009, finishing third, with Matthew Wilson coming in hot on his heels in fifth. The ten-point haul means that the Stobart team have closed the gap on the BP Ford Abu Dhabi team, in second, to just six points in the manufacturer standings. #5: Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin: "I'm very happy with this finish and it's great to get back scoring more points after our retirement last time out in Portugal. We could have finished higher, I think fourth would have been possible, but we just lost too much time on the second day. The damper problem meant we lost the feeling with the car and we couldn&! rsquo;t push as hard as we needed in order to stay in the battle with Federico; those stages were so technical and twisty that any problem will drop you lots of time. It has been one of the roughest events I have ever done, worse than Greece in places, but to finish with more points and maintain my improved run this season is great and a big boost." #6 : Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud: "It's a fantastic result for us, I can't believe it. It's been such a long time since my last podium and we have really worked hard this year and especially on this event; it was much tougher than I expected. I'm very sorry for Petter, he has done a good job here also, but this is what happens in rallying. I spent time before this rally working on the set-up with my engineer because I knew we could do well here if I had a good feeling. It was difficult on Saturday, the stages started off slippery then got very rough and we struggled a bit with getting the car t! o turn in. We have got a Ford on the podium and collected points for the Stobart team and me; now I'm back into fourth and ahead of Petter in the championship." Citroen Junior Team http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1 The Rally Argentina, the fifth round of the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship, has stayed true to its reputation of being hard on all the cars. The competitors had to battle with the difficult terrain all the way to the finish. While Citroën scored a memorable one-two thanks to Sébastien Loeb and Dani Sordo, the Citroën Junior Team got to the end thanks to Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia. #7 : Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia: " It's been a good day, we've set some good times and that's very encouraging for the future. " #8: Conrad Rautenbach/Daniel Barritt: Retired (accident) 5. Championship Points Full championship points at: http://www.rallye-info.com/points.asp? 6. Next Event The championship returns to Europe as it reaches the halfway point of the season on the Italian island of Sardinia next month. Round six is the gravel Rally d'Italia Sardegna, which is based in Olbia on 21 - 24 May. |