Autosportfoto

WRC 2 in Argentina Tidemand cruises to hat-trick

Pontus Tidemand finished YPF Rally Argentina with a 25 point lead in the WRC 2 championship after sealing his third win from as many rallies in a Skoda Fabia R5.

Following wins in Sweden and Mexico, Tidemand and co-driver Jonas Andersson took the lead in Argentina on the first stage and began Sunday's final leg with a dominant 9m40s lead over local hero Juan Carlos Alonso in a similar car.

The Swede gave away some of that advantage as he picked a cautious line through two of today's three rough and rocky stages but he completed the event in style with an emphatic win on the Power Stage, sealing victory by 10m11.3s from Alonso.

"I'm very happy by what we have achieved on this rally," said Tidemand. "A maximum 25 points is good for the championship and good experience for me too on a rally I hope to return to.

"It was my first time here and we had no problems - as well as Jonas I have many people in the team to thank. Next for me is Portugal, where I expect the competition to be very tough."

Only five WRC 2 drivers completed the notoriously tough rally and all were driving Skoda Fabia R5's.

Mexico's Benito Guerra completed the podium, 32min adrift of Alonso. Gustavo Saba claimed two stage wins today on the way to fourth, while Hubert Ptaszek secured fifth. Pedro Heller, who started the day in third, retired on the final stage.

Vodafone Rally de Portugal hosts round six of the championship in Matosinhos, near Porto, on 18 - 21 May.

Zdroj: wrc.com