Frenchman SĂ©bastien Ogier will start this weekendâs fourth round of the World Rally Championship in Argentina (23 – 26 April)
Chance for Ogier to add three new records to his glistening collection
Ogier completed successful first step when he and Britain’s Kris Meeke were tied at the top of the timesheets following Wednesday eveningâs shakedown at Xion Rally ArgentinaÂ
Having won the last five WRC events, Ogier can equal fellow Frenchman SĂ©bastien Loebâs 2005 and 2008 records of six consecutive wins. If he succeeds, France would also topple Finland as the nation with the most rally wins and Ogier would complete his WRC trophy collection. Currently Argentina is the only round in the calendar he has yet to win.
Talking after the six-week break since the last round in Mexico, Ogier insisted he would not let the possibilities distract him from his primary goal.
âItâs nice to be in the situation where weâve won the five last rallies, but I will not start Argentina with the target of this record in mind.â he told wrc.com. âItâs most important for me to think about the championship. The record is like the cherry on the cake. If it happens it will be great and I will like it, but I donât feel pressure to go after it.â
Ogier has tackled Rally Argentina five times, and has finished second twice, most recently last year, when tyre damage dropped him behind Volkswagen Motorsport team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala.
The duo set matching times in Wednesday’s shakedown in their first two passes through the 4.59km stage from Villa Garcia to Cabalango. Ogier went faster on his third and final run in his Volkswagen Polo R, only for Meeke to equal it on his fourth attempt in CitroĂ«nâs DS 3.
“I enjoyed the break but six weeks was very long so Iâm happy to be back in the Polo,â said Ogier. âWe had only one test day on gravel during the six weeks, so it was important to have shakedown to get back in the rhythm again.â
Meeke admitted the six-week break since the previous round in Mexico had helped him.
âThe start of the season hasnât been perfect. The speed has been OK but I havenât been able to be consistent and made a few mistakes. It was nice to have time to clear the head and come back reset. Like Seb, Iâve had just one day on gravel between the two rallies so shakedown was good to get the feeling back,â he said.
Andreas Mikkelsen was 1.2sec behind in third in his Polo R, just a tenth of a second ahead of Mads Ăstbergâs DS 3 in fourth. Latvalaâs Polo R and Thierry Neuvilleâs Hyundai i20 completed the top six.
Hayden Paddon went off the road and hit a fence during his third run after a bolt broke in his i20âs front left steering arm. He repaired the car in the stage before returning to the Villa Carlos Paz service park.
Long, punishing stages have been the hallmark of Rally Argentina in recent seasons and although 2015âs route shows changes, surviving the endurance sections unscathed will play as big a role as pure pace in the outcome.
