If anyone was under the impression that Sebastien Loeb might be winding down into his
rally retirement
, the nine-time world champion has proven them wrong this weekend with his eighth overall win and
second victory this year
at Rally Argentina. Loeb’s
Citroen DS3
finished 55 seconds ahead of fellow Frenchman Seb Ogier, who led the first six stages in his
VW Polo
, before an error caused him to skid off the course. He was able to recover, but with 40 seconds lost, his lead over Loeb was transformed into a 17-second deficit. And after a puncture on the next stage cost him even more time, Ogier opted to ease off and settle for second, knowing Loeb won’t be able to challenge him in the driver’s standings.
Loeb wins in Argentina for the eighth time
“It’s a great emotion to win here,” said Loeb, whose win looks set to be his last on gravel. “After so many months since my last gravel rally it was difficult to find the feeling in the first stage and to get the car working for me, but it was the perfect drive.” Loeb will now make one last WRC appearance at France in October – unless, of course, Citroen decide to
parachute him in
for an extra rally or two after his
Pikes Peak debut
to increase their points tally.
Ogier’s team-mate Latvala completed the top three with his first podium finish in Argentina – after a disappointing second day, he rallied (no pun intended) to win all five of the final stages, hauling himself back up the leaderboard past the Ford Fiesta of Evgeny Norikov. Norikov’s fellow Fiesta driver Thierry Neuville and Mikko Hirvonen’s DS3 rounded out the top six, the latter having a disappointing rally thanks to a puncture and a series of electrical issues.
Ogier forced to settle for second
So now all five rounds of the 2013 season so far have been won by either Loeb or Ogier. And while any doubts about who might be the next big name to succeed Loeb at the top of the leaderboard are rapidly fading, so too is
the hope
that Loeb’s departure might spark that frisson of unpredictability in the championship standings that many critics feel is missing these days.