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Every year, Rally Argentina is one of the most eagerly anticipated rounds of
the World Rally Championship! For the 2013 event, we followed the
trail of Citroën Racing and its crews in South America, from Buenos Aires to
Villa Carlos Paz, taking in Córdoba on the way...
There would be action – and not always of the kind expected – particularly
when Dani Sordo tested the strength of his DS3 WRC, emotion as Sébastien Loeb
and Daniel Elena won the rally for the eighth year running and most of all, a
lot of enthusiastic fans lining the roads and in the terraces of the
legendary La Bombonera football stadium!
Sit back, and enjoy an exclusive look at a week of pasión argentina
with Citroën Racing!
- Everything OK, the sun is shining!
- All right, let's eat a steak!
In what has become a bit of a tradition, the drivers and co-drivers
stop off for a few days each year in Buenos Aires.
It’s a great way for them to get over the jetlag whilst enjoying the
relaxing pace of life in the Argentinean capital.
But tourism wasn’t the main reason for this year’s stopover.
Citroën Argentina took advantage of the presence of the WRC stars to
organise a series of promotional activities.
Before getting into their racing cars, Sébastien Loeb, Mikko Hirvonen and
Dani Sordo drove in 2CVs across the city to the legendary Café Tortoni,
where they took part in a television programme.
Opened over 150 years ago by a French immigrant, some of its most famous
patrons include Juan Manuel Fangio and Albert Einstein.
We can now add Sébastien Loeb’s name to that list!
The team then headed north-west, towards Córdoba.
The rally was held just outside the country’s second largest city, which
had pulled out all the stops to welcome the drivers.
Sébastien Loeb was even granted the freedom of the city before taking part
in a huge roadshow, including a drive on the dried-out La Cañada canal.
It was a great roadshow, there were a lot of people.
We had fun out there. It’s always nice to do an event like
this when you can see that people are interested.
There was a good atmosphere, like there always is in Argentina, people
everywhere you looked and a crazy singer in the car with me – we had
a bit of everything!
Mikko and Dani weren’t shy about putting on a show either, enthralling
the 50,000 fans that packed the length of the route!
After the party atmosphere of the roadshow, the crews turned their
attention to preparations for the rally.
Work started with two days of recce. This can be somewhat laborious and
often goes unseen, but recce can play a significant role in
determining the final outcome.
The 2013 route featured many long tests, which can be very *** the
cars given the high speeds reached on the stages.
There are always long stages, which are *** the cars.
I think it's even more difficult this year as there are a lot of embedded
rocks, which can do a lot of damage to the cars.
The roads have been re-laid; they are harder but are covered with a fine
layer of gravel. Starting positions are going to be
important. There are also a lot of rocks lining
the roads, so it’s easy to hit something.
It's a high-speed rally, but it’s also about consistency.
Over in the service park, the mechanics were making the final
touches to preparations. Along with Mexico and Australia,
Argentina is one of three overseas rounds on this year’s WRC calendar.
The vast majority of the equipment is therefore shipped across the globe in
containers, which are converted into mobile workshops and
spare parts shops.
Citroën Racing knows a thing or two about Rally Argentina.
In 2003, the first time the team took part in the event, Carlos Sainz
finished as runner-up in his Xsara WRC. The following season, the Matador
won his 26th and final world championship rally in front of a
passionate crowd cheering on their hero.
Runner-up Sébastien Loeb looked like he was already ready to take
over from Sainz.
The Argentinean fans wasted no time in appointing Seb as their new idol.
He claimed the first of eight consecutive wins here in 2005, just
ahead of Marcus Grönholm. The following year, the Xsara’s decals
were blue, but that didn't stop Seb from beating Petter Solberg.
The 2007 rally was one of the most extraordinary races in the history of
the WRC. It began on the Thursday evening with a super special stage in
the River Plate stadium, in Buenos Aires.
The return trip to Córdoba was supposed to be by plane, but the
weather conditions meant no flights could take off.
The crews therefore spent a large part of the night at the airport, and the
first leg was finally cancelled. In the end, however, Sébastien
Loeb prevailed again...
In 2008, the fans went wild even before the rally proper got underway.
And with some justification, as Sébastien Loeb’s co-driver for the
shakedown was none other than Diego Maradona!
El pibe de oro needed no second invitation to put on overalls and a
helmet to experience the unique thrill of being in a C4 WRC.
Obviously, Daniel Elena retook his place for the rally itself and along
with Seb, the Franco-Monegasque pair went on to complete a
comfortable victory.
As was the case in 2004, Citroën secured a one-two finish in 2009, with
Sébastien Loeb ahead of Dani Sordo.
After a one-year break, Rally Argentina returned to the WRC calendar
in 2011. Handed a one-minute penalty for a time control error, Seb Loeb
spent most of the race trailing Seb Ogier.
But Ogier rolled his car on the final day, allowing Loeb to claim the win,
two seconds ahead of Hirvonen and seven ahead of Ogier!
Loeb and Hirvonen resumed their battle at the front in 2012, but this time as
Citroën team-mates. The two DS3 WRCs dominated the race,
as Mikko put Seb under pressure but was unable to force him into making a
mistake. After five a half hours of racing, the
two Citroëns recorded a one-two finish, with just 15
seconds between them!
And then we come to this year's race. After missing the Mexico and Portugal
rounds, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena returned to competitive action
as part of their partial WRC programme.
They lined up alongside Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen in competing for
the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, whilst Dani Sordo and
Carlos del Barrio were racing for the Abu Dhabi Citroën Total
World Rally Team.
The serious business got underway on Wednesday, with the two runs in free
practice and the qualifying stage, which lets the fastest drivers to
choose their starting positions for the first leg.
A little rusty for the first few miles, Sébastien Loeb’s reflexes came
back pretty quickly. The nine-time World Champion fought
hard to set the fastest time, but lost out to Jari-Matti Latvala by just 35
thousandths of a second.
A photo finish was also required to split Dani Sordo and Mikko Hirvonen,
who finished fourth and fifth respectively, with only
39/1000ths between them.
Banking on conditions remaining mostly dry for the first leg, the crews chose
to start as far down the running order as possible, in order to enjoy a
clean racing line.
The rally officially got underway at the end of the day with the
magnificent super special stage in Villa Carlos Paz.
Sébastien Ogier claimed the fastest time, ahead of Dani Sordo.
The race took on a whole new dimension on the Thursday morning.
Serving up damp sections, misty rain and fog, the first few ‘proper’ stages
provided a genuine kick-start to the rally.
Sébastien Ogier was fastest again on SS2, but Mikko Hirvonen hit back
on the next stage.
At the midday service, the no.2 DS3 WRC driver was just four
seconds adrift of Ogier.
It’s been really good this morning. I really had to try hard, especially
on the long stage, which was really tough.
We were struggling a little bit with the tyres in the end, but
it’s not too bad.
Despite having to contend with a set-up not entirely to his liking,
Sébastien Loeb was third, just six seconds behind the leader.
Overall, it’s ok, it went pretty well. I had a little difficulty getting my
bearings, especially on the first stage.
In fact, the car is a little different to what I was used to before.
The set-up is different, there is a bit more understeer and so I had to
try and understand how to drive the car.
I had to drive it a little differently, which is what I tried to
do on the next stage. The car was still understeering, but I
ended up getting used to it!
Dani Sordo, however, is unlikely to look back on this year’s rally with
much affection. It has to be said that things didn't
started especially well for the Spanish driver.
He had already flipped his car onto its roof at the roadshow organised on
a gravel track just outside Buenos Aires...
It was a "roll show"! In fact, I was trying to push a bit but the wheel
came off, we ran onto the grass and the car was thrown into a roll...
Fortunately the mechanics managed to repair the car.
I’m very sorry.
On the first leg of the rally, Dani ended up rolling his car again.
Distracted by a problem with the door, Carlos del Barrio read out the wrong
pace note, and the crew were punished straight away.
At times like these, the experience and determination of Citroën Racing’s
mechanics can prove invaluable.
In little more than half an hour, they
managed to repair the DS3 WRC so that the Spanish crew could
continue the rally.
Whereas tyre choice had been fairly straightforward for the morning’s
stages, it was another matter entirely for Thursday's second loop of stages.
Gambling on conditions staying dry, the Citroëns fitted hard tyres.
But light drizzle fell again, enabling Ogier to take advantage and extend his
lead by a few more seconds. Sébastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen
finished the stage 16 and 18 seconds behind the leader respectively...
We'll see how things go tomorrow – we don’t really have much choice now!
I felt the car was better on the second loop.
Having said that, we then had to cope with the tyres we’d chosen, but the
balance was pretty good.
With stages contested on roads with many embedded rocks, *** tyres and
suspension systems, the drivers expected to suffer on day
two of the rally.
On course to win SS6, Sébastien Loeb ran into trouble on a muddy corner.
He lost a few seconds, whilst Ogier claimed the fastest time.
However, the race reached a turning point on SS7, between Amboy and
Yacanto. Faster at each split, Seb was putting
his rival under serious pressure. Ogier then made a mistake, losing
around twenty seconds. Loeb and Hirvonen moved to the top of
the Rally Argentina standings.
As if his position of leader had given him wings, Sébastien Loeb was simply
unbeatable throughout the second loop. Winning two stages, he extended
his lead to 40 seconds.
We've got what we wanted! Yes, it’s true that with a 40-second
lead, we have something of a cushion. On the other hand, there are a few
technical stages left, and large rocks lining the roads.
You can’t afford to make any mistakes.
The afternoon's stages proved to be something of an ordeal for Mikko
Hirvonen. On SS8, the Finn picked up a puncture
after hitting a rock. The thirty seconds lost on the stage
enabled Ogier to reclaim second overall.
On the next stage, the Finn’s DS3 WRC stopped for several minutes due to an
electrical problem. Mikko fell back to sixth place, behind
Novikov, Latvala and Neuville.
We had some electronic problem in the car, and it was cutting the power off
all the time. We stopped once to try and see what
was the problem. We were stopped for four minutes but
we managed to continue. It was a really tough day.
Citroën’s chances of victory therefore rested with Sébastien Loeb alone.
But before he could think about the podium, he would have to make it to
the end of the third and final leg, held – without any service period – on
the legendary Mina Clavero and El Condor stages.
The magnificent, dramatic scenery on these stages attracts hundreds of
thousands of fans every year, who are prepared to camp high up in the
mountains to make sure they don’t miss any of the action.
Armed with a relatively comfortable lead, Sébastien Loeb was able to
control his pace in the more tricky sections.
He still put on a fine show for the fans, however, winning by
over a minute.
This eighth consecutive win for Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena in
Argentina was also Citroën’s ninth win here.
There was therefore a little emotion in Seb’s voice at the finish...
It’s pretty incredible to have won here for the eighth time in a row.
It went well. We’re very pleased to have been on the
pace again, because it was by no means certain that would be the case, given
that I hadn’t raced for a while. A tough weekend, but it worked
out well in the end!
After setting some strong times on the final day, Mikko Hirvonen finished in
sixth position. The points scored enabled the Citroën
Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team to match VW’s tally in the
Manufacturers’ Championship.
It was okay, the weather was nice! There were lots of spectators and they
are quite legendary stages. I just tried to have a good rhythm and
enjoy it as much as I can.
A great moment of joy for the members of the Citroën Racing team, who joined
Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena in celebrating their 78th win in the
World Rally Championship.
Before heading back to Europe, the crews made one final detour to
Buenos Aires for a moment of pure relaxation.
The weekend prior to the rally, Citroën had confirmed its official
sponsorship of the Boca Juniors football club.
After being presented with team shirts, Mikko and Jarmo had taken the
DS3 WRC for a spin around La Bombonera, the capital’s
famous stadium.
On the Sunday afternoon after the rally, the cauldron was full to the
brim for El Superclásico between Boca Juniors and River Plate,
Buenos Aires’s other big team. Special guests Seb, Mikko and Dani
walked onto the pitch, where they were greeted with cheers as they were
introduced to the crowd. They then took their seats to watch
an enthralling match.
As Mikko Hirvonen said, it’s an atmosphere that you have to experience
at least once in your life!
The Argentinean subsidiary set an example for all the other subsidiaries
to follow as regards what you can do with motorsport and how it can be used
as a marketing and communication tool. We have been involved in a lot of
activities this week, with a roadshow in Buenos Aires, a roadshow in Córdoba
and here we have rounded it all off by celebrating the Brand, its commitment
to football and Citroën Racing together.
The Argentinean people are really passionate about sport.
You can see here that they love their football, but they also love
motorsport, and rallying in particular.
Seeing such big crowds for an event like the one we organised in Cordoba
is a great source of motivation for our team.
And it shows that we make a real contribution to the
success of the Brand.
Rally Argentina 2013 is over. ¡Adiós Argentina!
See you soon for more action from the rest of the
2013 World Rally Championship.