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Argentina WRC: Evans claims early lead after hectic start

Elfyn Evans holds a shock Rally Argentina lead in his DMACK Ford after setting the pace throughout a chaotic opening morning.

Elfyn Evans, Daniel Barritt, Ford Fiesta WRC, M-Sport

Elfyn Evans, Daniel Barritt, Ford Fiesta WRC, M-Sport

M-Sport

Elfyn Evans, Daniel Barritt, Ford Fiesta WRC, M-Sport
Jari-Matti Latvala, Miikka Anttila, Toyota Yaris WRC, Toyota Racing
Jari-Matti Latvala, Miikka Anttila, Toyota Yaris WRC, Toyota Racing
Mads Ostberg, Ola Floene, Ford Fiesta WRC, M-Sport
Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Ford Fiesta WRC, M-Sport
Hayden Paddon, John Kennard, Hyundai i20 WRC, Hyundai Motorsport
Dani Sordo, Marc Marti, Hyundai i20 WRC, Hyundai Motorsport
Dani Sordo, Marc Marti, Hyundai i20 WRC, Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Ford Fiesta WRC, M-Sport

Only four factory drivers had a completely trouble-free start, but even before the attrition set in, Evans had already taken charge of the rally.

DMACK has brought a new tyre to this event, a harder version of its soft compound featuring a lighter sidewall, and Evans made good use of it to win all three full-length stages so far.

Initially Kris Meeke and Dani Sordo were able to keep Evans in sight, but both hit trouble.

Sordo had to stop and change a broken steering arm on his Hyundai after striking a rock on the Amboy stage, costing him 11 minutes.

Meeke flew off the road when caught out by a bump on the following Santa Rosa stage, doing substantial damage to his Citroen.

He got going again and reached the stage finish having lost just over six minutes, but faces a challenge to get his mangled car through the upcoming superspecial and back to service.

All that put Jari-Matti Latvala up to second, despite losing some front aero on his Toyota on the first stage.

Latvala was part of a very tight five-car battle for most of the morning, but drew nearly nine seconds clear of it by going second-quickest to Evans on Santa Rosa. The Finn trails the Welshman by 23.6s overall.

Points leader Sebastien Ogier was as low as seventh, having done slight aerodynamic damage to his M-Sport Ford when an incorrect pace note led to him exploring a ditch on the opening San Agustin stage.

He regained a little ground on SS3 then felt running first on the road was particularly costly on SS4, leaving him fifth.

The champion is at the tail of a very close all-Ford fight for third, with 3.5s covering WRC returnee Mads Ostberg and works M-Sport duo Ott Tanak and Ogier.

Set-up changes after a poor first stage helped Tanak surge forward with third-fastest times on the next two stages.

Thierry Neuville was in the thick of this battle at first before a broken damper caused him to drift away from it. The Hyundai driver is 12.3s off Ogier in sixth.

Last year's Argentina winner Hayden Paddon rolled on the day's very first stage, but the level of attrition - and the fact he sustained minimal damage and got going within two and a half minutes - means he is already back up to ninth behind Lorenzo Bertelli and WRC2 leader Pontus Tidemand.

Juho Hanninen has been drastically slowed by a loss of power on his Toyota, which started after a rough ride over one of many vicious compressions on the early stages. He runs a distant 10th.

UPDATE: Citroen duo Meeke and Breen both retired at the end of SS4 after their respective issues of crashing out and gearbox failure. Both drivers could return under Rally 2 tomorrow, should their cars get fixed in time.

Standings after SS4

ClaDriver/CodriverCarGap
1 united_kingdomElfyn Evans 
united_kingdomDaniel Barritt 
Ford Fiesta WRC '17 38m40.6s
2 finlandJari-Matti Latvala 
finlandMiikka Anttila 
Toyota Yaris WRC 23.6s
3 norwayMads Ostberg 
norway Ola Fløene 
 Ford Fiesta WRC '17 32.2s
4 estoniaOtt Tanak 
estoniaMartin Jarveoja 
Ford Fiesta WRC '17 33.4s
5 franceSébastien Ogier 
franceJulien Ingrassia 
Ford Fiesta WRC '17 35.7s
6 belgiumThierry Neuville 
belgiumNicolas Gilsoul 
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 48.0s
7 italyLorenzo Bertelli 
italySimone Scattolin 
Ford Fiesta WRC '17 2m04.4s
8

 Pontus Tidemand

 Jonas Andersson

Skoda Fabia R5 3m03.1s
9

 Hayden Paddon

 John Kennard

Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3m03.8s
10 finlandJuho Hanninen 
finlandKaj Lindstrom 
Toyota Yaris WRC 3m10.3s

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