Eight-time world champion Sebastien Loeb has won the Rally of Argentina, his 70th career win, with Russian driver Evgeny Novikov recovering to finish eighth after breaking down on the first day.
Loeb won four of the 19 stages on his way to beat Citroen teammate Mikko Hirvonen by 15.2 seconds at the finish Sunday, with last month’s Rally de Portugal winner Mads Ostberg in third.
The victory underlines Citroen’s persistence after a spectacular shunt forced him to retire in Portugal, Loeb said.
“Another victory here in Argentina, it’s incredible for me and especially after Portugal it was important for the team to react like this,” Loeb said in comments cited on the World Rally Championship website.
Ford’s Petter Solberg won 11 stages, but his hopes of a win were scuppered when he retired with a steering problem on the first day, after which he restarted with a significant time penalty and eventually finished seventh.
Non-works Ford driver Novikov damaged a wishbone on his car on the third stage, but continued the next day with a penalty after repairs and eventually finished in the points in eighth.
Loeb leads the championship on 91 points after five of the season’s 13 rallies, with Solberg in second on 73 points, Hirvonen third on 70, Ostberg on 68 and Novikov on 43 points.
