Stobart VK M-Sport Ford drivers Henning Solberg and Matthew Wilson both lie in excellent point-scoring positions going into the second day of Rally Argentina after producing an accomplished display of driving in difficult conditions on the 142.15kms of day one action.
Dusty roads and damage from loose rocks were issues for all of the teams today but the Stobart crews did well to avoid any major problems with Solberg finishing the day in fifth place overall and Wilson moving up to seventh.
After a steady start to the day that saw Solberg drop one place from his overnight position of fifth he found his pace on the short SS5 San Marcos – Charbonnier test. The Norwegian and co-driver Cato Menkerud finished the 9.61km stage in second place just 2.3 seconds behind current world champion Sebastien Loeb; and went into the afternoon loop having moved back up to fifth place overall.
Despite the difficult, rocky conditions on the second pass of the stages in the afternoon, and problems with dust getting into his Ford Focus RS WRC, Solberg continued to push and maintained the pressure on the crews ahead of him, including his brother Petter. Third place on the second visit to San Marcos – Charbonnier kept him well ahead of BP Ford Abu Dhabi’s Jari-Matti Latvala going into day two.
Team mate Wilson immediately started to move up the leaderboard after taking ninth place on Thursday’s Super Special stage. A trouble-free morning loop saw the young Briton and co-driver Scott Martin rise up to seventh in the overall standings. Wilson has shown reliable form throughout the championship this season and he continued to demonstrate that consistency on the morning loop.
A stall on SS6 Ascochinga – La Cumbre at a hairpin bend lost him around 12 seconds but he recovered well to keep ahead of Federico Villagra, a man with the advantage of local knowledge, and the other young drivers in the pack Sebastien Ogier and Conrad Rautenbach.
Tyre wear became an issue for all of the drivers on the second pass of the stages in the afternoon as the road surface began to break up leaving large rocks in the road. Both Solberg and Wilson used the additional tyre change after SS6 to fit two new Pirelli Scorpion tyres which stood up well to the testing conditions. SS6 was generally considered to have been the toughest and most abrasive stage of the day and the Stobart drivers used their tyre allocation to good effect, ensuring they had the best of their Italian rubber for the rougher stages.
Tomorrow sees the rally head to the west of the Service Park at Villa Carlos Paz to tackle nine more stages totalling 141.64kms. These include some of Rally Argentina’s most iconic speed tests including Mina Clavero and El Condor, the highest stage which takes the drivers to over 2000 metres above sea level.
The high altitude provides a stern test both of the engines and the drivers’ fitness but could also present additional challenges such as snow on the road. Also on the list is Icho Cruz – Carlos Paz, a very tricky, new stage with lots of crests and jumps to keep crew on their toes. Day two ends with a second Super Special stage back in the Cordoba Stadium.
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