2008 Rally Argentina
# 2008 Rally Argentina

The 2008 Rally Argentina, officially 28º Rally Argentina, is the fourth round of 2008 World Rally Championship season; it is a second gravel round of the championship and also the second round of the Production World Rally Championship. The event began with a ceremonial start on Thursday, March 27 in Córdoba and ended after a Super Special Stage and ten minutes service "E" in Villa Carlos Paz.

Some stages of the rally, especially the ones from final day, similarly to those seen on the Mexican event, are held in the mountainous area of the country, thus drivers climb up to 2100 meters above sea levels. The event, however, is more varied and some competitive kilometers lead through vast Argentinian plains.

## Summary

The rally began in rainy and muddy conditions. Mikko Hirvonen was the first on the road as the championship leader and managed to open up a 48-second gap to Jari-Matti Latvala and a 50-second gap to Sébastien Loeb. However, the BP Ford drivers soon dropped out of contention. On the second stage, Latvala spun off and lost about nine minutes, and on the fifth stage, Hirvonen and Stobart VK M-Sport Ford's Henning Solberg damaged their cars while hitting rocks and retired from the rally. Loeb managed to open up a comfortable gap to Subaru's Chris Atkinson and Petter Solberg. Other drivers in the points after day one were Gigi Galli, Dani Sordo, Federico Villagra, Matthew Wilson and Latvala.

Loeb continued to lead throughout day two, and Solberg passed his teammate Atkinson for second place. Galli retired from fourth place to preserve his vehicle when smoke started to pour from his Ford Focus after SS13. Latvala also had problems with his Focus and retired. After day two, due to the high level of attrition, Sordo was now in fourth place, Conrad Rautenbach had climbed to fifth, Hirvonen, who re-joined the event under SupeRally rules, to sixth and Andreas Aigner to seventh. Villagra was in eighth place.

French World Rally Champion held his lead until the very end of the event and won the event with over two and a half minute advantage over the Subaru driver, Atkinson. The young Australian's steady pace paid off and he was able to claim second place after electric in Petter Solberg's car malfunctioned and he had to retire. Petter's brother, Henning, didn't manage to finish either - shock absorber in older Solberg's Focus was blown through the hood again, same way as on Friday, and he ended his rally at the very same spot as his younger sibling.

The last man on the podium was second Citroën driver, Dani Sordo, followed by Conrad Rautenbach in another C4 WRC, who was therefore first Zimbabwean to ever score points in an WRC event. Fifth was Ford's Mikko Hirvonen who managed to score four points in drivers' and five in manufacturers' championship despite massive penalties for using SupeRally. Last three pointing drivers were Munchi's Federico Villagra, Stobart's Gigi Galli, who also restarted under SupeRally format and Andreas Aigner driving a group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. He was also first in PWRC classification, followed by Argentinian Sebastián Beltrán and Finn Jari Ketomaa.

## Results

| Pos. | Driver | Co-driver | Car | Time | Difference | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| WRC |||||||
| 1. | Sébastien Loeb | Daniel Elena | Citroën C4 WRC | 4:05:48.6 | 0.0 | 10 |
| 2. | Chris Atkinson | Stéphane Prévot | Subaru Impreza WRC 07 | 4:08:21.8 | 2:33.2 | 8 |
| 3. | Dani Sordo | Marc Martí | Citroën C4 WRC | 4:09:53.3 | 4:04.7 | 6 |
| 4. | Conrad Rautenbach | David Senior | Citroën C4 WRC | 4:25:52.1 | 20:03.5 | 5 |
| 5. | Mikko Hirvonen | Jarmo Lehtinen | Ford Focus RS WRC 07 | 4:31:03.9 | 25:15.3 | 4 |
| 6. | Federico Villagra | Jorge Pérez Companc | Ford Focus RS WRC 07 | 4:33:30.6 | 27:42.0 | 3 |
| 7. | Gigi Galli | Giovanni Bernacchini | Ford Focus RS WRC 07 | 4:33:40.4 | 27:51.8 | 2 |
| 8. | Andreas Aigner | Klaus Wicha | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 4:34:47.9 | 28:59.3 | 1 |
| PCWRC |||||||
| 1. (8.) | Andreas Aigner | Klaus Wicha | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 4:34:47.9 | 0.0 | 10 |
| 2. (9.) | Sebastián Beltrán | Ricardo Rojas | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 4:35:53.5 | +1:05.6 | 8 |
| 3. (10.) | Jari Ketomaa | Miika Teiskonen | Subaru Impreza N12 | 4:37:41.2 | +2:53.3 | 6 |
| 4. (11.) | Fumio Nutahara | Daniel Barritt | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 4:38:47.0 | +3:59.1 | 5 |
| 5. (12.) | Martin Rauam | Silver Kutt | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 4:44:16.0 | +9:28.1 | 4 |
| 6. (13.) | Amjad Farrah | Nicola Arena | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 4:53:04.4 | +18:16.5 | 3 |
| 7. (14.) | Martin Prokop | Jan Tománek | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 4:53:07.8 | +18:19.9 | 2 |
| 8. (18.) | Bernardo Sousa | Jorge Carvalho | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 5:13:02.4 | +38:14.5 | 1 |

## Special stages

All dates and times are ART (UTC-3).

| Day | Stage | Time | Name | Length | Winner | Time | Avg. spd. | Rally leader |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 (28 MAR) | SS1 | 07:45 | La Cumbre - Agua de Oro 1 | 18.70 km | M. Hirvonen | 16:29.3 | 68.0 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 1 (28 MAR) | SS2 | 08:41 | Ascochinga - La Cumbre 1 | 23.28 km | M. Hirvonen | 14:59.6 | 93.2 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 1 (28 MAR) | SS3 | 09:44 | Capilla del Monte - San Marcos 1 | 22.95 km | J. Latvala | 17:39.7 | 78.0 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 1 (28 MAR) | SS4 | 10:16 | San Marcos - Charbonier 1 | 9.61 km | M. Hirvonen | 6:38.3 | 86.9 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 1 (28 MAR) | SS5 | 14:26 | Ascochinga - La Cumbre 2 | 23.28 km | S. Loeb | 14:51.3 | 94.0 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 1 (28 MAR) | SS6 | 15:29 | Capilla del Monte - San Marcos 2 | 22.95 km | J. Latvala | 17:23.1 | 79.2 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 1 (28 MAR) | SS7 | 16:01 | San Marcos - Charbonier 2 | 9.61 km | G. Galli | 6:33.5 | 87.9 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 1 (28 MAR) | SS8 | 17:04 | La Cumbre - Agua de Oro 2 | 18.70 km | J. Latvala | 17:02.3 | 65.9 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 1 (28 MAR) | SS9 | 18:45 | Camping San Martin 1 | 3.50 km | C. Atkinson | 1:39.4 | 126.8 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (29 MAR) | SS10 | 08:05 | Santa Monica - Amboy 1 | 22.17 km | P. Solberg | 12:02.7 | 110.4 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (29 MAR) | SS11 | 08:57 | Villa del Dique - Las Bajadas 1 | 16.41 km | S. Loeb | 9:10.0 | 107.4 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (29 MAR) | SS12 | 09:35 | San Augustin - Villa General Belgrano 1 | 16.31 km | S. Loeb | 11:26.5 | 85.5 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (29 MAR) | SS13 | 10:20 | Santa Rosa - San Augustin 1 | 21.41 km | C. Atkinson | 13:37.3 | 94.3 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (29 MAR) | SS14 | 14:25 | Santa Monica - Amboy 2 | 22.17 km | P. Solberg | 11:37.2 | 114.5 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (29 MAR) | SS15 | 15:17 | Villa del Dique - Las Bajadas 2 | 16.41 km | S. Loeb | 8:57.8 | 109.8 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (29 MAR) | SS16 | 15:55 | San Augustin - Villa General Belgrano 2 | 16.31 km | P. Solberg | 11:18.8 | 86.5 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (29 MAR) | SS17 | 16:40 | Santa Rosa - San Augustin 2 | 21.41 km | P. Solberg | 13:23.6 | 95.9 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (29 MAR) | SS18 | 18:45 | Camping San Martin 2 | 3.50 km | P. Solberg | 1:40.6 | 125.2 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 3 (30 MAR) | SS19 | 09:13 | Mina Clavero - Giulio Cesare | 24.70 km | J. Latvala | 19:57.9 | 74.2 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 3 (30 MAR) | SS20 | 10:05 | El Condor - Copina | 16.06 km | S. Loeb | 15:08.6 | 63.6 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 3 (30 MAR) | SS21 | 11:50 | Camping San Martin 3 | 2.63 km | J. Latvala | 2:13.3 | 71.0 km/h | S. Loeb |

Footnotes:A ^ all times local

## Championship standings after the event

### Drivers' championship

| Pos | Driver | MON | SWE | MEX | ARG | JOR | ITA | GRC | TUR | FIN | GER | NZL | ESP | FRA | JPN | GBR | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Sébastien Loeb | 1 | Ret. | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | 30 |
| 2 | Mikko Hirvonen | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | 25 |
| 3 | Chris Atkinson | 3 | 21 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | 22 |
| 4 | Jari-Matti Latvala | 12 | 1 | 3 | 15 | | | | | | | | | | | | 16 |
| 5 | Gigi Galli | 6 | 3 | Ret. | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | 11 |
| 6 | Petter Solberg | 5 | 4 | 12 | Ret. | | | | | | | | | | | | 9 |
| 6 | Dani Sordo | 11 | 6 | 17 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | 9 |
| 8 | François Duval | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 |
| 8 | Conrad Rautenbach | Ret. | 16 | 16 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 |
| 8 | Federico Villagra | | | 7 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 |
| 11 | Henning Solberg | 9 | 13 | 5 | Ret. | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 |
| 11 | Andreas Mikkelsen | | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 |
| 13 | Matthew Wilson | 10 | Ret. | 6 | Ret. | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 |
| 14 | Jean-Marie Cuoq | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 14 | Toni Gardemeister | Ret. | 7 | Ret. | Ret. | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 16 | Per-Gunnar Andersson | 8 | Ret. | Ret. | 24 | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| 16 | Juho Hänninen | | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| 16 | Sébastien Ogier | | | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| 16 | Andreas Aigner | | 31 | | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| Pos | Driver | MON | SWE | MEX | ARG | JOR | ITA | GRC | TUR | FIN | GER | NZL | ESP | FRA | JPN | GBR | Pts |

Key :

| Colour | Result |
| - | - |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Did not finish (Ret) |
| Black | Excluded (EX) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Withdrew entry from the event (WD) |

### Manufacturers' championship

| Rank | Driver | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Total points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Rank | Driver | MON | SWE | MEX | ARG | JOR | ITA | GRC | TUR | FIN | GER | NZL | ESP | FRA | JPN | GBR | Total points |
| 1 | BP Ford World Rally Team | 8 | 18 | 11 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 44 |
| 2 | Citroën Total World Rally Team | 11 | 4 | 10 | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 41 |
| 3 | Subaru World Rally Team | 10 | 6 | 9 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 33 |
| 4 | Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally Team | 8 | 8 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 22 |
| 5 | Munchi's Ford World Rally Team | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 |
| 6 | Suzuki World Rally Team | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |

### Production championship

Points table:

| Pos | Driver | SWE | ARG | GRC | TUR | FIN | NZL | JPN | GBR | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Jari Ketomaa | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | 14 |
| 2 | Andreas Aigner | 11 | 1 | | | | | | | 10 |
| 2 | Juho Hänninen | 1 | | | | | | | | 10 |
| 4 | Sebastián Beltrán | | 2 | | | | | | | 8 |
| 5 | Martin Prokop | 4 | 7 | | | | | | | 7 |
| 6 | Patrik Sandell | 3 | | | | | | | | 6 |
| 7 | Fumio Nutahara | | 4 | | | | | | | 5 |
| 8 | Martin Rauam | | 5 | | | | | | | 4 |
| 8 | Uwe Nittel | 5 | Ret | | | | | | | 4 |
| 10 | Toshihiro Arai | 6 | Ret | | | | | | | 3 |
| 10 | Amjad Farrah | | 6 | | | | | | | 3 |
| 12 | Armindo Araújo | 7 | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 12 | Bernardo Sousa | 8 | 8 | | | | | | | 2 |
| Pos | Driver | SWE | ARG | GRC | TUR | FIN | NZL | JPN | GBR | Pts |
