Ott Tanak has continued his dominance of Rally Argentina, with 46.5 seconds back to Thierry Neuville in second, and six wins out of Saturday’s seven World Rally Championship stages to his name.
Tanak has performed faultlessly during the difficult foggy conditions on Saturday and seems set to take his first victory for Toyota.
Neuville and Kris Meeke continued their battle for second, with Neuville getting ahead on stage 11 with his position consolidated at the end of the day when Meeke suffered a puncture on the demanding 40-kilometre stage, losing two minutes changing it and dropping down to eighth.
There were plenty of casualties from the fog-laden morning stages, with Esapekka Lappi first to encounter drama, claiming to have gone 20 metres of the road after a misread pacenote. A strong recovery puts him in sixth after taking Elfyn Evans in the final stage of the day.
Craig Breen rolled his Citroen, sustaining damage to much of the car and limping to the finish with co-driver Scott Martin holding the passenger door closed. He will not be starting on Sunday.
Dani Sordo had a strong day and was the only driver able to snatch a stage win away from Tanak. He inherits third after Meeke’s misfortune.
Championship leader Sebastien Ogier took it easy in the difficult conditions and has been unable to progress further than fourth in a rally that is known not to suit his driving style.
Andreas Mikkelsen fared better in the sunny weather of the afternoon after the confusion in the fog led to errors.
Teemu Suninen and Kalle Rovanpera round out the top ten.
The battle for WRC2 victory is heating up as 17-year-old Rovanpera takes the lead from reigning champion Pontus Tidemand who sits in 11th.
