39. XION Rally Argentina 2019
25. 4. – 28. 4. 2019, Villa Carlos Paz • Automóvil Club Argentino • gravel 347.50 km - (cancelled 29.85 km) • total distance including road sections - 1297.56 km • Other years
Info
SS18
"I can't ask for more today after getting my second win in this classic event and second in a row this season. The car has been great all weekend long. That is due to a big team effort done not only on-site, but also in Germany. The progress of the car is seen, so I am proud of what are reaching. This makes us happy for the coming events, despite knowing that there will be some tough ones when we return to Europe. In the meantime, we all go to Chile which is a place to discover."
"This is an absolutely great result for me. It took a long time, but I am so happy now that this feels alsmost like a win."
"I had the most unexpected puncture 6 km from the finish. What else could I do?"
"I did everything I could. I could not match Meeke's speed this weekend, so I kept doing me best until the Power Stage,"
"It's time to go up now. We don't give up."
"It was a difficult rally al the way. Being first on the road didn't really help. Shame of a weekend, I'd say."
"This is one of the worst things that ever happened to me. A scary moment jwith the finish at nearly at sight distance!. The car stopped with all red alarms and it would go on. Some fans pushed me and it came back to life, so I was lucky to win WRC 2!"
"This stage is amazing, for sure. And so it is the number of spectators supporting us! I had gearbox problems, so I couldn't select every shift. The most important things is the points I scored take me to the championship lead."
"We learnt a lot about the car on gravel here. It was a long and hard event. We take some important dat home and we still have Chile in two more weeks to go for more."
SS17
"I had trouble with the steering, which locked on the stage again. Not a bad run, though. There is more work to do."
"I couldn't do any quicker than this. My stage was almost perfect, but to get a better time, I'd need some more speed in my car."
"I tried to get some clean lines, but it was impossible. And Latvala is being the fastest guy here until now."
"I gave everything I had in this stage. I am tired, as a matter of fact!"
"Same as yesterday. It seems I can't get rid of the intercom problems in this rally."
"Both stages so far have been similar for me. Times are not bad. I might put a harder attack on the Power Stage to get more points, but the rod there is not exactly easy"
SS16
"We lost the intercom again, so I was driving without the pace notes in a few places. At least we made it through the stage"
“I couldn’t enjoy it so much. I haven’t done this stage this way before. And there was fog in other times, so this is the first time I saw it properly. I need to make some changes in my notes”
"I take it very carefully as it's very rough. We tried to keep a good rhythm and we will continue like this."
“Clean stage, we have more pace to come if we need. Happy enough!”
"Work is not done yet, we almost caught him here. Hopefully I can do that in the remaining stages"
"I thought I was losing against everybody because I get no traction from the car and it does't feel nice. I am struggling with that"
"There are many slippery sections here this morning. I get no grip at all"
"I hope sun shines for me today like it is shinning for the fans. Conditions are good"
SS15
"I really enjoy these stages, which are my favourites. I didn't have a good time here during the morning but the configuration changes made to the Fiesta make me feel much better, so I could enjot the drive this time"
"I was steady on the beginning because there were several rocks and the last thing we needed was a puncture. Towards the end, I got more confident and pushed harder"
"I could push a lot harder now because the steering problem is not a problem anymore and that makes quite a difference. I still think there might be result changes later because somebody has not respected the road book here earlier"
"The afternoon is goig very well for me. The oil leak is gone and I am happy with what we are achieving"
"It would be nice to fight for a podium finish, but right now I fight to be faster and faster everyday. The change the team made to the rear suspension seems to be working fine because now the car does not feel so unstable"
"No problems here. Crossing a waterspalsh, just a little water came into the engine, but it was not a serious misfire"
SS14
"Conditions are better, the surface is not so bad, drier, and that is why I was able to be faster now than some hours ago"
"I had a good stage, trying to be careful with the banks to avoid making a mistake. I saw a Toyota standing on the inside of a corner, but I didn't know it was Tänak's"
" "I am pleased to keep an interesting pace""
"The car is moving a lot in the rear. I am doing my best to go fast, but the car won't let me because there must be some serious set-up problem in the rear"
"The difference is that now the surface is completely dry or so. There are some ruts in this second pass through the stages, so it is not possible to be completely aggressive. I have good side grip and I am braking better"
stopped
SS11
"I was always flat out here because our setup is good. Ott is being very fast and we know that is hard to fight with him when he starts pushing. We still are, anyway, because the rally is still long"
"It is really difficult to drive without the power steering. I found a gate in a junction I thought it was different to my recce and made a stupid mistake by hesitating there. I lost valuable time"
no power steering
"These stages are super nice. I touoched the inside of a corner with plenty of water. Other than that, everything is much better than yesterday"
"These stages are quite a change compared to what we left behind yesterday. However, it is a tricky morning becaise the surface is dying up quickly. I lost time at the end, but I am pleased with the car"
"That was more or less 5 km before the end after hitting a rock, so I must have lost not more than a couple of seconds, luckily"
SS10
"I am giving my best, but it seems these roads are made for the Toyotas. They are more aerodynamic and get more speed in places like this"
"It looks it is difficult to match the speed of the Toyotas. I am trying, though"
"This is a narrow road and conditions are tricky. I am fine with my times even though I'd say I am not pushing to the limit yet"
"To be honest, I enjoyed yesterday's stages a little more. Here I found it tough to get good grip, but there is no doubt I can't complain about my pace"
"I did some mistakes in the beggining even if I was on the careful side, anyway. It shoud get better for me later"
"Beautiful stage that I enjoyed driving. There were some slippery places, but not so bad"
"This is a nice place, but we mustn't forget there are large rocks out of the road, so I tried to be precise in my lines"
SS9
technical issue
SS8
"Engine problems this afternoon. After the water splash the engine stopped 3 or 4 times during the stage. We followed the procedure for closing the airfilter for the water but we still have problems we need to investigate"
stopped
finished under red flag
"This stage was for me like the rest of the leg. That is, partially OK, but not exactly what I wanted"
accident
spin
I can't go faster, but I don't know why. Something in the performance of the car is not OK"
spin
"Definitely the surface in this second run here was rougher. To be first on the road is not the best, but considering this I guess my time was fine"
SS7
"About 11 km before the end i felt something strange in the car and it was obviously this puncture. Fortunately, I didn't lose so much time"
puncture
"I did everything I could, but I was feeling the front left tyre had a very low pressure, so I sturggled with this for most of the course"
"I was being careful because I still find it tough to spot where the slippery mud is"
"I am disappointed because I was not driving well. I was being too cautious, perhaps because I had more than just one puncture earlier and I couldn't afford one more"
"Tänak was really flying. I think there is more grip for the front-runners. This stage was so nice, but unfortunately I guess I lost pressure in my tyres. There must be just one OK and for the other three I don't know what might have happened"
"The road was so cut up it looked like a second pass to it. I've got no traction and I have no asnwer to the times of the guys in front"
"i didnt feel so bad, but it seems we lost valuable time here. The stage is a mix between fast bends and narrow, twisty places"
"It was a normal stage for me, but we crossed a huge watersplash flat out and I think some water came into the engine, so I lost power for a while. I am doing my best this afternoon"
"SS7 was better than we expected. Not as muddy as I thought. I can see the fight between leaders is very close"
"This stage was really fine for us. it was quite helpful to watch videos last night trying to spot where to find less mud in order to push harder"
SS6
stopped
SS4
"I am still learning this car. Setting some good stage times is always possitive, aprticularly in these conditions"
"This stage felt better, but I got it mostly right, so I am pleased"
"I've got a front left puncture after 5 km. Maybe we needed to take it easier"
"Water came into the engine and I struggled for quite some time before it cleared"
"The road is progressively becoming more consistent, yet we get some surprises at the wheel. Overall, I am happy"
stopped
"It's alright. Frankly, it is difficult to find grip or to spot the drier areas where we could push a little bit more"
"I have a rear puncture because I was caugh hitting the edge of the road after a crest"
puncture
"Generally, this stage was better, but there are still a lot of tricky places"
"It was a clean run for us despite the changing conditions. We had no issues"
"It is not easy to drive smoothly in this surface, but I am still trying to do my best"
"This stage was better than before, for sure. I was able to push harder. I lost time here and there, but otherwise it was a good time for me. We are trying to set the car up"
SS2
“It was so muddy, I was too cautious, nothing much else to say”.
"It's not so bad. There are sections which are really muddy, but at least vision is good. Let's find some humour in this"
"We got a nicer time than we thought, so I am pleased. I was quickest until the last split, but I am feeling a lot of negative camber in the car, so I could not do the last few kilometers flat out"
"It was hard to drive in such a muddy surface because we don't know where it is better or worse"
"I never drove with so much water in some of my lines in Argentina before"
"I started well with better grip in some corners, but in the final section it was far too slippery. We were braking more often than we thought. These are not nice conditons".
"I am being careful. I was paying attention to Meeke's lines. Not a place to get risks for me".
"There were just a few places OK here, but most of the road was very, very muddy. Interesting changes to what we expected. I took it easy and I was almost a passenger in my car"