The Citroën Total World Rally Team crew of Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena won Rally Argentina today, their fourth consecutive victory in South America. Subaru’s Chris Atkinson finished second and Dani Sordo claimed the final podium position for Citroën.

In the FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers, Loeb’s victory means he takes the lead from Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen, who now trails by five points. Atkinson’s third podium finish of the season sees him move into third position, six points ahead of fourth-placed Jari-Matti Latvala. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, however, the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team retains its lead but now only has a three point advantage over Citroën Total.

Today took in two of the most famous stages in the Championship – Mina Clavero-Giulio Cesare and El Condor-Copina - before returning for a final run around the super special stage. Loeb cruised to victory without problems to take his third win of the season. Similarly, Atkinson completed a trouble-free day. However team-mate Petter Solberg was robbed of a podium finish when he was forced to retire with electrical problems.

Other leading retirements today included Matthew Wilson and Henning Solberg (both Ford), who went out with broken suspension, and Suzuki’s Toni Gardemeister who lost the power steering.

The fifth round of the FIA World Rally Championship takes the crews to the Jordan Rally (24-27 April), which makes its debut on the calendar this year.

Rally Argentina – Final Results (* subject to routine fuel analysis)

1. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena * Citroën C4 WRC 4 hr 05 min 48.6sec
2. Chris Atkinson/Stéphane Prévot * Subaru Impreza WRC 4 hr 08 min 21.8sec
3. Dani Sordo/Marc Marti * Citroën C4 WRC 4 hr 09 min 53.3sec
4. Conrad Rautenbach/David Senior * Citroën C4 WRC 4 hr 25 min 52.1sec
5. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen * Ford Focus RS WRC 4 hr 31 min 03.9sec
6. Federico Villagra/Jorge Perez Companc Ford Focus RS WRC 4 hr 33 min 30.6sec
7. Gigi Galli/Giovanni Bernacchini Ford Focus RS WRC 4 hr 33 min 40.4sec
8. Andreas Aigner/Klaus Wicha * Mitsubishi Lancer Evo (Gp N) 4 hr 34 min 47.9sec

FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers (after 4 of 15 rounds)

Sébastien Loeb (F) 30 points
Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) 25 points
Chris Atkinson (AUS) 22 points
Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) 16 points
Gigi Galli (I) 11 points
Dani Sordo (E) 9 points
Petter Solberg (N) 9 points
François Duval (B) 5 points
Conrad Rautenbach (ZW) 5 points
Federico Villagra (RA) 5 points
Henning Solberg (N) 4 points
Andreas Mikkelsen (N) 4 points 
Matthew Wilson (GB) 3 points
Toni Gardemeister (FIN) 2 points
Jean Marie Cuoq (F) 2 points
Per-Gunnar Andersson (S) 1 point
Juho Hanninen (FIN) 1 point
Sébastien Ogier (F) * 1 point
Andreas Aigner (A) 1 point

FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers (after 4 of 15 rounds)

BP-Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team 44 points
Citroën Total World Rally Team 41 points
Subaru World Rally Team 33 points
Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team 22 points
Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team 10 points  
Suzuki World Rally Team 6 points