The 2018 Rally Argentina (formally known as the YPF Rally Argentina 2018) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over four days between 26 and 29 April 2018. It marked the thirty-eighth running of Rally Argentina, and was the fifth round of the 2018 World Rally Championship and its support categories, the WRC-2 and WRC-3 championships. The event was based in Villa Carlos Paz in Córdoba Province and consisted of eighteen special stages totalling competitive kilometres.
Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul were the defending rally winners. Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja won the rally. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the manufacturers' winners, while the Škoda Motorsport crew of Pontus Tidemand and Jonas Andersson won the World Rally Championship-2 category in a Škoda Fabia R5.
Background Championship standings prior to the event Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia entered the round with a seventeen-point lead in the World Championships for Drivers and Co-drivers. In the World Championship for Manufacturers, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT held a four-point lead over M-Sport Ford WRT.
Entry list The following crews were entered into the rally. The event was open to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2, and the World Rally Championship-3. The final entry list consisted of twelve World Rally Car entries and ten crews entered in the World Rally Championship-2. There were no entries for the World Rally Championship-3.
No. Entrant Driver Co-Driver Car Tyre World Rally Car entries 1 M-Sport Ford WRT Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRC 2 M-Sport Ford WRT Elfyn Evans Daniel Barritt Ford Fiesta WRC 3 M-Sport Ford WRT Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula Ford Fiesta WRC 4 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 5 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 6 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Dani Sordo Carlos del Barrio Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 8 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 9 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Toyota Yaris WRC 10 Kris Meeke Paul Nagle Citroën C3 WRC 11 Craig Breen Scott Martin Citroën C3 WRC 12 Khalid Al-Qassimi Chris Patterson Citroën C3 WRC World Rally Championship-2 entries 31 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 32 Ford Fiesta R5 33 Pedro Heller Pedro Heller Pablo Olmos Ford Fiesta R5 34 Ford Fiesta R5 35 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 36 Nil Solans Nil Solans Miquel Ibañez Ford Fiesta R5 37 Gustavo Saba Škoda Fabia R5 38 Edgardo Galindo Hyundai i20 R5 39 Tiago Weiler Fabian Cretu Škoda Fabia R5 40 M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Other major entries 81 Wevers Sport Ole Christian Veiby Škoda Fabia R5 Source:
Report Pre-event
Citroën expanded its operations to include a third entry. Craig Breen and Scott Martin returned to drive one car, having given up their seats in Mexico and Corsica to make way for Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena. Khalid Al-Qassimi and Chris Patterson are making their first appearance of the season, driving Citroën's third car.
Teemu Suninen and Mikko Markkula returned to drive M-Sport Ford's third entry. Suninen and Markkula had been replaced by tarmac specialists Bryan Bouffier and Xavier Panseri in Tour de Corse. Daniel Barritt also returned as Elfyn Evans' co-driver after being forced to miss the Tour de Corse to recover from a concussion sustained in an accident in Rally Mexico.
Thursday Defending rally winner Thierry Neuville edged Ott Tänak's Toyota Yaris by 0.3 second over the mixed surface roads in the town centre. Championship leader Sébastien Ogier was a further 0.1 second back in third in a Fiesta. Andreas Mikkelsen was half a second off the pace, despite twice understeering through roundabouts. From fifth to ninth were Kris Meeke, Esapekka Lappi, Teemu Suninen, Dani Sordo, the Shakedown winner Jari-Matti Latvala. Elfyn Evans, who originally finished eleventh, climbed up to tenth after Craig Breen received a 10-second penalty for checking out late at the time control.
Friday Although Ott Tänak got a half-spin in the second stage, he managed to gain a significant lead in subsequent stages, winning five of six special stages which earned him a 22.7-second lead over Kris Meeke, much to the astonishment of his rivals. Thierry Neuville ended the day at the third place, margined his teammate Dani Sordo by less than one second, while defending world champion Sébastien Ogier was a further 6.9 seconds behind. Craig Breen was seventh on the board, 41.2 seconds off the lead. Early leader Andreas Mikkelsen got a puncture in SS6, relegating him to seventh place, along with Esapekka Lappi who also suffered from two punctures. The Finn was in the thick of the podium battle but plunged to eighth. Elfyn Evans was ninth, the Welshman frustrated by his lack of pace, with Fiesta teammate Teemu Suninen completed the leaderboard. Jari-Matti Latvala was forced to retire from the rally after his Yaris' front right suspension and engine's oiling system sustained significant damage.
Saturday Ott Tänak was almost unbeatable in the rally. He set another five fastest stage times out of seven. His lead is now up to 46.5 seconds overall. Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo, who gained the podium place after Kris Meeke suffered a puncture and dropped to eighth, were the only two drivers to snatch stage victories from the Yaris diver. They were separated by 21.7 seconds. Defending world champion Sébastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen climbed up to fourth and fifth overall respectively, followed by Esapekka Lappi, another 29.1 seconds behind. Elfyn Evans was seventh in another Fiesta, nearly three minutes off the lead. Teammate Teemu Suninen and WRC 2 leader Kalle Rovanperä finished in the top ten. Craig Breen rolled his C3 out of sixth, which damaged his roll cage. He was forced to retire.
Sunday Ott Tänak dominated the rally and took his first rally victory of the season and first for his team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT. Thierry Neuville finished second with five Power Stage points, while his teammate Dani Sordo completed the podium. Defending world champion Sébastien Ogier finished fourth overall, margined Andreas Mikkelsen by just four seconds. Teammate Elfyn Evans finished sixth in another Fiesta, over three minutes off the lead. Kris Meeke finished at the seventh place after Saturday's puncture. Esapekka Lappi, Teemu Suninen and WRC 2 winner Pontus Tidemand, who recapture the position of category leader after Kalle Rovanperä rolled out in second to last stage, completed the leaderboard.
Classification Top ten finishers The following crews finished the rally in each class's top ten. Position Driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Class Stage Overall classification 1 18 3:43:28.9 0.0 25 2 2 25 3:44:06.6 +37.7 18 5 3 36 3:44:44.6 +1:15.7 15 0 4 41 3:45:27.5 +1:58.6 12 4 5 54 3:45:31.5 +2:02.6 10 3 6 623:46:35.2 +3:06.3 8 0 7 710 3:46:54.6 +3:25.7 6 1 8 89 3:48:01.5 +4:32.6 4 0 9 93 3:49:07.5 +5:38.6 2 0 10 1031 3:55:44.7 +12:15.8 1 0 World Rally Championship-2 10 131 3:55:44.7 0.0 25 — 12 232 4:03:23.8 +7:39.1 18 — 15 333 4:04:47.6 +9:02.9 15 — 16 438 4:11:34.3 +15:49.6 12 — 18 536 4:33:28.6 +37:43.9 10 — Source:
Other notable finishers The following notable crews finished the rally outside top ten.
Position Driver Entrant Car Class Time Points Event Class Stage 14 14 12 Khalid Al-Qassimi Chris Patterson Citroën C3 WRC 4:04:47.2 0 Source:
Special stages Overall classification Day Stage Name Length Winner Car Time 26 April — Villa Carlos Paz [Shakedown] 4.25 km 2:31.5 SS1 SSS Villa Carlos Paz 1.9 km 1:54.4 27 April SS2 Las Bajadas / Villa del Dique 1 16.65 km 8:55.7 SS3 Amboy / Yacanto 1 33.58 km 19:19.9 SS4 Santa Rosa / San Agustín 1 23.85 km 13:42.6 SS5 SSS Fernet Branca 1 6.04 km 4:42.0 SS6 Las Bajadas / Villa del Dique 2 16.65 km 8:43.4 SS7 Amboy / Yacanto 2 33.58 km 19:18.7 SS8 Santa Rosa - San Agustín 2 23.85 km 13:35.0 28 April SS9 Tanti - Mataderos 1 13.92 km 9:00.1 SS10 Los Gigantes - Cuchilla Nevada 1 16.02 km 8:16.7 SS11 Cuchilla Nevada - Rio Pintos 1 40.48 km 24:31.0 SS12 SSS Fernet Branca 2 6.04 km 4:40.8 SS13 Tanti - Mataderos 2 13.92 km 8:59.9 SS14 16.02 km 8:15.5 SS15 Cuchilla Nevada - Rio Pintos 2 40.48 km 24:03.0 29 April SS16 Copina - El Condor 16.43 km 13:09.5 SS17 Giulio Cesare - Mina Clavero 22.41 km 18:31.3 SS18 16.43 km 13:00.8 World Rally Championship-2 26 April — Villa Carlos Paz [Shakedown] 4.25 km 2:41.3 SS1 SSS Villa Carlos Paz 1.9 km 1:57.5 27 April SS2 Las Bajadas / Villa del Dique 1 16.65 km 9:54.8 SS3 Amboy / Yacanto 1 33.58 km 20:42.9 SS4 Santa Rosa / San Agustín 1 23.85 km 14:29.1 SS5 SSS Fernet Branca 1 6.04 km 4:46.8 SS6 Las Bajadas / Villa del Dique 2 16.65 km 9:24.8 SS7 Amboy / Yacanto 2 33.58 km 20:29.1 SS8 Santa Rosa - San Agustín 2 23.85 km 14:19.3 28 April SS9 Tanti - Mataderos 1 13.92 km 9:25.1 SS10 Los Gigantes - Cuchilla Nevada 1 16.02 km 8:49.5 SS11 Cuchilla Nevada - Rio Pintos 1 40.48 km 26:09.5 SS12 SSS Fernet Branca 2 6.04 km 4:48.1 SS13 Tanti - Mataderos 2 13.92 km 9:20.2 SS14 Los Gigantes - Cuchilla Nevada 2 16.02 km 8:43.6 SS15 Cuchilla Nevada - Rio Pintos 2 40.48 km 25:20.0 29 April SS16 Copina - El Condor 16.43 km 13:29.8 SS17 Giulio Cesare - Mina Clavero 22.41 km 18:45.6 SS18 El Cóndor 16.43 km 13:42.0
Power stage The Power stage was a 16.43 km stage at the end of the rally. Additional World Championship points were awarded to the five fastest crews.
Pos. Driver Co-driver Car Time Diff. Pts. 1 13:00.8 0.0 5 2 13:01.3 +0.5 4 3 13:01.5 +0.7 3 4 13:04.0 +3.2 2 5 13:04.5 +3.7 1
Penalties The following notable crews were given time penalty during the rally.
Stage Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Class Reason SS1 11 WRC 1 minute late 0:10 SS7 34 3:20 SS13 38 WRC-2 5 minutes late 0:50
Retirements The following notable crews retired from the event. Under Rally2 regulations, they were eligible to re-enter the event starting from the next leg. Crews that re-entered were given an additional time penalty.
Stage Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Class Cause SS1 36 Mechanical Yes SS3 7 WRC Suspension No SS3 39 WRC-2 Accident No SS6 40 WRC-2 Accident No SS8 37 WRC-2 Mechanical Yes SS9 34 WRC-2 Accident No SS12 11 WRC Accident No SS17 35 WRC-2 Accident No SS18 37 WRC-2 Accident No
Championship standings after the rally
Drivers' championships DriverPoints 1 Sébastien Ogier100 2 Thierry Neuville90 3 Ott Tänak72 4 Andreas Mikkelsen54 3 5 Dani Sordo45DriverPoints 1 1 Pontus Tidemand68 1 2 Jan Kopecký50 3 336 6 4 Pedro Heller30 2 5 Takamoto Katsuta29DriverPoints 137 237 333 428 525
Co-Drivers' championships Co-DriverPoints 1 Julien Ingrassia100 2 Nicolas Gilsoul90 3 Martin Järveoja72 454 3 5 Carlos del Barrio45Co-DriverPoints 1 1 Jonas Andersson68 1 2 Pavel Dresler50 3 336 6 4 Pablo Olmos30 2 5 Marko Salminen29Co-DriverPoints 137 237 333 428 525
Manufacturers' and teams' championships ManufacturerPoints 1 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT144 2 M-Sport Ford WRT129 3 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT124 493TeamPoints 1 1 Škoda Motorsport68 1 2 Škoda Motorsport II50 3 Tommi Mäkinen Racing35 4 Hyundai Motorsport30 5 Printsport25TeamPoints 1 OT Racing37 2 ADAC Sachsen37 3 ACI Team Italia33 4 Go+Cars Atlas Ward18 5 Castrol Ford Team Turkiye15
Notes
References
External links
2018 Rally Argentina in e-wrc website The official website of the World Rally Championship