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WRC 2 in Argentina: Tidemand wins as Rovanperä crashes

Pontus Tidemand claimed victory at YPF Rally Argentina on sunday after Skoda Motorsport team-mate Kalle Rovanperä crashed out of the lead on the penultimate stage.

At the start of the final day, 17-year-old Rovanpera had a 23.2sec lead as the field tackled El Condor but he lost 13.3sec to Tidemand as the Swede looked to fight back after losing time to his colleague yesterday.

It looked like the Giulio Cesare - Mina Clavero stage would be the setting for a close battle between the pair but instead the youngster crashed his Fabia R5 close to the end of the test. Thankfully Rovanperä and co-driver Jonne Halttunen were both uninjured but it all but guaranteed his team-mate a second WRC 2 victory of the year.

Tidemand's victory moves him top of the WRC 2 drivers' standings after Skoda team-mate Jan Kopecký missed this transatlantic trip.

"It's been a demanding rally," he explained. "When there are hot conditions and you're competing against a fast driver you really have to raise your game."

Rovanperä's retirement allowed Gus Greensmith to finish second in his Ford Fiesta, more than 7mins behind the Swede after a broken driveshaft on SS16 affected his pace.

Pedro Heller finished third after closing to within 1min 23.8sec of the Briton but ran out of stages to potentially move up a position.

Fourth went to the only Hyundai i20 R5 in the field - driven by Diego Dominguez - with the restarting Nil Solans fifth, gaining a place from Gustavo Saba who retired on the last stage.

Zdroj: wrc.com