Federico Villagra (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX) broke a nine-month victory drought by wining the fourth round of the Argentine Rally Championship held in the southern city of Cutral-Có, in the province of Neuquén.
At the wheel of his old Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX (“Coyote” blew the EVO X’s engine in the previous round), Villagra beat Tango’s driver Nicolás Madero (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X) by just 2,6s in a close battle.
In third place finished series leader Gabriel Pozzo (Subaru Impreza), who had to struggle hard to reach the podium as the typically loose gravel surface of the Patagonia region doesn’t suit the Subaru well (this was the best result ever for the N14 in this event).
With the victory Villagra put an end to Pozzo’s streak of wins (four in a row) and closed 11 points in the Championship to place himself second, 22 points behind Pozzo.
“I’m really happy with the victory since we didn’t have a good start to the season and we now proved we can fight against Pozzo and his Subaru, even with the EVO IX. I took a lot of risks because this victory was really crucial for the Championship. Madero drove a great race; he didn’t give up pushing during the whole weekend,” said Villagra who claimed his 39th victory out of 95 appearances in the Argentine series.
Now the Argentine Championship moves for the first time in the year to the north of the country. Next round will be held in Catamarca this weekend.
Final classification:
1) Federico Villagra/D. Curletto (Mitsubishi) 1h15m08,5s.
2) Nicolás Madero/G. Piazzano (Mitsubishi) + 2,6s.
3) Gabriel Pozzo/D. Stillo (Subaru) + 1m03,9s.
4) Juan Marchetto/G. Franchello (Mitsubishi) + 1m08,3s.
5) Diego Domínguez/E. Galindo (Mitsubishi) + 1m10,6s.
6) Claudio Menzi/D. Cagnotti (Subaru) + 1m16,9s.
7) Marcos Ligato/R. García (Mitsubishi) + 1m36,1s.
8) Miguel Baldoni/J. Diaz (Mitsubishi) + 1m38,1s.
Standings:
1) Pozzo 76,5 pts
2) Villagra 54,5 pts
3) Madero 38pts
4) Menzi 28 pts
5) Ligato 24 pts
6) Cancio 22 pts
6) Marchetto 19 pts
7) Domínguez 16 pts
– Credit: Media Argentino / Translation: Pablo MACHI – www.rallyreportnewsworld.com – Images: Raúl Bellido