Loeb takes opening stage in Rally Argentina

Sebastien Loeb’s bid to win Rally Argentina for the sixth time has got off to the perfect start after the Citroen DS3 WRC star went fastest on the opening stage, the Super Special Carlos Paz.

Using a spectacular, undulating route in the hills above the rally’s host town, the action thrilled the tens of thousands of fans who flocked to witness the opening exchanges on round six of the World Rally Championship as drivers battled in pairs over the gravel test.

“It’s only the start, there’s a long way to go over three days and one second is nothing,” said Loeb.

“But I’m happy for the start and we will see tomorrow what we can do. The stage was very nice for a super stage.”

Petter Solberg (Citroen) was next quickest followed by another DS3 driven by Sebastien Ogier and the Ford Fiesta of Jari-Matti Latvala.

The opening leg includes another six timed stages covering just under 160 competitive kilometres including the famous El Condor stage.

SS1 Results : Rally Argentina

Pos	Driver	Car	Model	Time
1	Sebastien Loeb	Citroen	DS3 WRC	2:25.9
2	Petter Solberg	Citroen	DS3 WRC	+0:00.9
3	Sebastien Ogier	Citroen	DS3 WRC	+0:01.0
4	Jari-Matti Latvala	Ford	Fiesta WRC	+0:01.5
5	Mikko Hirvonen	Ford	Fiesta WRC	+0:01.7
6	Federico Villagra	Ford	Fiesta WRC	+0:07.2
7	Matthew Wilson	Ford	Fiesta WRC	+0:07.4
8	Mads Østberg	Ford	Fiesta WRC	+0:08.4
9	Ken Block	Ford	Fiesta WRC	+0:09.2
10	Yuriy Protasov	Mitsubishi	Lancer Evo X	+0:09.8

Check out the Ford Preview for Rally Argentina