The Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart crew of Alister McRae and David Senior hold 13th position at the end of the opening leg of competition in Rally Argentina. Team-mates François Delecour and Daniel Grataloup were forced to retire their Lancer Evolution WRC this afternoon after damaging the suspension.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution WRC
Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart
A. McRae / D. Senior
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Rally Argentina got underway last night in the tourist resort of Villa Carlos Paz, thousands of fans turning out to cheer on the 68 crews who crossed the ramp for the ceremonial start. It was not until this morning however that the action began in earnest as the competitors headed north for the opening leg covering nine stages and 153.79 competitive kilometres. Despite overcast skies and cool weather, conditions remained dry, but the enormous crowds who supported the crews last night caused the cancellation of the opening stage for safety reasons. Late this afternoon, fog descended in the final two stages, rally leader Marcus Gronholm benefiting significantly in stage 8 when, first on the road, he had a clearer run by comparison with those behind who battled through 50 metre visibility. As a consequence, the Finn extended his advantage by 45 seconds in this stage alone, and returns for the overnight halt with a staggering one minute 40 seconds in hand to his nearest rival.
The Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart crew of Alister McRae and David Senior hold 13th at the end of leg one, the British pair off to a disappointing start when they damaged the steering in stage 2. "We clipped a rock about seven kilometres into the stage and bent the steering", said Alister. "It was then about half a turn out of line, but obviously better to have bent than break completely". McRae was then hampered by tyre problems in the middle group of five stages, dropping precious time. "We had a vibration in the front left tyre in stage 3 caused by the anti-deflation mousse breaking up", he added. "We then changed the tyre for the following stage and everything was fine, but then had a slow puncture in stage 6 so had to put the tyre with the broken mousse back on for the last one". In the final two stages, when dense fog descended, the Scot - who enjoys driving in these conditions - looked set to claw back some time until intermittent brake problems and damaged steering slowed his charge. "We hit another rock in stage 9 damaging the steering. It was really frustrating because I enjoy driving in fog and without these problems I think we could’ve made up a lot of time in the last two stages. It’s been a difficult first day but we have to continue pushing hard".
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution WRC
Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart
F. Delecour / D. Grataloup
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Team-mates François Delecour and Daniel Grataloup have been heartened by the performance of the Lancer Evolution in Argentina, but were ultimately forced into their first retirement of the season with broken suspension in stage 7.
"The car is definitely much better than in Cyprus and this is the biggest step forward we’ve made so far this year", said François. "I made a mistake though and got the wrong line flat-out over a jump. We hit a rock on landing and rolled and although we were able to continue, the front right suspension then collapsed. Generally I was pleased with the way things were going, our times were in line with the Fords and it’s a shame to end so early".
Adding to their comments, Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart team manager Derek Dauncey said: "Both drivers have said the car is much better than Cyprus and a big step forward has been made. Unfortunately François took a wrong line, rolled and retired from the rally, but before that he felt good and was looking forward to the last two stages. Alister has had a few problems that have set him back a bit, but third on the road tomorrow, second time through the stages, should be an advantage. Obviously he’ll continue to push hard".
Meanwhile...
Peugeot is once again dominating the head of the leaderboard, a straight one-two interrupted by Tommi Mäkinen (Subaru) in second position. Marcus Grönholm, winner in Sweden and Cyprus, holds an incredible one minute 40.3 second advantage over Mäkinen, benefiting from running first on the road and, most notably in stage 8, where he was 45 seconds faster than any of his rivals as fog quickly descended. Mäkinen has had a trouble-free run but for a stall at the start of stage 4, and has 21 seconds in hand to Richard Burns (Peugeot), the leading Briton, in third position. Petter Solberg (Subaru) holds fourth ahead of Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard upholding Ford honours despite power steering problems earlier in the day. Fastest time for Freddy Loix in stage 9 - his first in the Hyundai - has elevated the Belgian up the leaderboard from eighth to sixth position. Toni Gardemeister leads Skoda’s assault in eighth position just ahead of former World Champion, Colin McRae, the Scot losing time this morning with a spin. Aside from Delecour, the only other leading retirement was that of Armin Schwarz (Hyundai), the German out in stage 9 with a lack of fuel pressure.
Still to come...
The second leg of Rally Argentina is a complete repetition of the opening leg, once again starting at 06:40 hrs (local), covering nine special stages and 153.79 competitive kilometres, and returning to the host town of Villa Carlos Paz at 18:42 hrs.
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