By Paul Evans
Elfyn Evans confessed that sixth place is not where he wanted to be at the end of a very wet and muddy opening day on Rally Argentina – but while the M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC driver is down in sixth place, he is only 38.2 seconds off the lead and 24.8 seconds off a podium place.
The Argentine stages are challenging at the best of times, but heavy thunderstorms in the lead up to the rally made them even more demanding on Friday – with deep water splashes and treacherously slippery conditions making the balance between speed and survival a key part of the game.
Those with the confidence to push through the challenging conditions were able to reap the rewards, and those who drove with an air of caution suffered as a result.
Adopting the best of both worlds, Evans and co-driver Scott Martin are locked in an intense midfield battle with much to play for over the remainder of the event.
“Obviously it’s not where we wanted to be at the end of the day, but we’re not a million miles away and there is still a long way to go,” said Evans.
“I felt that we were driving quite well at points, but I didn’t always have the feeling to push that little bit more – just struggling with the balance here and there. The midfield battle is pretty close, so we have to keep fighting for the best possible position tomorrow.”
“It’s not the start we wanted, but we could see how challenging the conditions were,” added M-Sport Team Principal Richard Millener. It’s been a tough day and I think quite hard to judge the balance between being safe and pushing hard – and those with the confidence to do the latter were able to make some pretty big gains!
“Elfyn was there or thereabouts through most of the stages, but those little hesitations here and there soon add up. He’s fallen from the fight at the front, but he’s still just over twenty seconds off the podium – and with two days to go, we’re not about to give up the fight just yet.”
Thierry Neuville (Hyundai i20 WRC) leads the event after day one, 11.9 seconds ahead of Sébastien Ogier (Citroen C3 WRC). Ott Tänak is third, but only after a broken driveshaft on the Estonian’s Toyota Yaris WRC sent the event leader into a time-consuming spin near the finish of Friday’s final stage.
Competitors head into the vast pampas plains and hills of the Punilla Valley on Saturday for two identical blocks of three stages. The loops are split by a repeat of Friday’s theme park test in host town Carlos Paz.
Rally Argentina – leading positions after SS8
1. Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) 1:11:13.9
2. Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (Citroen C3 WRC) +11.9
3. Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) +13.4
4. Kris Meeke / Sebastian Marshall (Toyota Yaris WRC) +28.1
5. Andreas Mikkelsen / Ander Jaeger (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +29.4
6. Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin (Ford Fiesta WRC) +38.2
7. Dani Sordo / Carlos del Barrio (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +41.1
8. Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1:13.6