INEVITABLE OUTCOME; Loeb reclaims WRC points lead in Argentina.(Competition)

Byline: ANTHONY PEACOCK

Frenchman Sebastien Loeb became the most successful driver in the history of the Rally Argentina by winning the event for the fourth-straight time, racking up his 39th career victory. Loeb also reclaimed the drivers' world championship lead and propelled his Citroen team back into contention for the manufacturers' title.

With summer turning into autumn in the southern hemisphere, weather was expected to be warm and dry in the Cordoba region west of Buenos Aires. Instead, driving rain and high winds turned the gravel roads into a quagmire over the rally's three days.

Despite thick fog at the start, Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen took an early lead, going a full 50 seconds quicker than anybody else on the opening stage. His dominance was short-lived: The Finn hit a rock buried in mud, handing the advantage to Loeb on Friday afternoon. The reigning world champion controlled his pace to the finish over classic stages that climbed more than 2000 meters high through the Andes foothills.

This year's new tire rules, designed to cut costs, mean that crews have to use the same rubber compound for a number of the gravel rallies, but Argentina's cold and wet conditions did not suit the hard-compound Pirellis. Teams were allowed previously to hand-cut extra grooves in the tires to cope with extreme conditions, but this, too, has been outlawed.

"The tire rules made this rally quite dangerous,'' said Loeb. "We were just skating on a layer of mud for a lot of the time. These rules need to be changed so we can cut the tires.''

The Subarus of Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson fought a close battle for second through most of the rally, but Solberg retired from the runner-up spot with electrical problems just two stages from the finish. It would have been the Norwegian's best result since last year's Rally of Portugal.