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BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila produced a performance as blistering as the Mexican weather to lead throughout the opening day of Rally Mexico today. Twenty-two-year-old Latvala, who became the youngest driver in history to win a round of the FIA World Rally Championship earlier this month, led from the opening kilometre in his Ford Focus RS World Rally Car to build a 9.6sec overnight advantage.

Team-mates and drivers’ championship leaders Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen lie fifth in another Focus RS after the first of three days of tough gravel speed tests east of León, high in the hills of central Mexico. The Finns had the worst of the slippery road conditions this morning and a puncture this afternoon cost 40sec as they ended the day 1min 10.6sec behind their fellow countrymen.

Huge crowds packed the narrow streets of Guanajuato last night for the spectacular start ceremony of this third round of the championship and opening gravel event of the year. Music and dancing groups entertained the spectators before the 39 starters threaded their way through tens of thousands of fans as they made their way from this beautiful city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to the rally’s León base.

The action began in earnest today as competitors tackled two identical loops of three speed tests, before two passes over a super special stage at León’s race circuit – a total of 135.74km of competition. The rally is the highest of the season, today’s action climbing to 2737m on hillsides awash with cacti and only briefly dipping below 2000m. The altitude took its toll on cars as the thinner air caused engines to ‘run out of breath’ and lose more than 25 per cent of their usual power.

The region has been blessed by dry and hot weather for some time, leaving a coating of loose stones on the surface of the gravel tracks above the city. Hirvonen and Latvala were the first two cars in the start order and as a result they endured the worst of the slippery conditions on the opening loop, sweeping the stones away to leave a cleaner and faster driving line for those behind.

However, it failed to slow Latvala who stamped his authority on the event by winning the opening special stage. He completed the opening loop with a 4.4sec lead over Sébastien Loeb, before two more stage wins on cleaner roads this afternoon extended his advantage over the world champion.

“I started with plenty of confidence after Sweden and felt relaxed,” he said. “It’s a big surprise for me to lead because my pre-event target was to look for a podium. It’s more than I expected or dreamed about. I kept a good pace all day and the whole package has worked well – car, driver, co-driver and tyres. I had some big impacts on stones this morning but Pirelli’s tyres stood up well.

“It will be interesting to be first in the start order tomorrow on the gravely roads, but I was second today and there’s not such a big difference. I don’t want to think about it too much, I just want to get into the car and see what happens. The plan is to drive in the same way as I did on the slippery roads this morning. The stages are tricky so I need to find the same relaxed feeling,” he said.

Hirvonen was fifth on all three morning tests to hold fourth, 18.7sec behind his team-mate. However, a slow puncture on this afternoon’s middle stage cost 40sec and one place.

“I don’t know what I hit but I slid wide in a couple of corners towards some stones so maybe that was the cause,” he said. “There was a crack in the wheel rim and slowly the tyre lost air before coming off the rim completely with about 3km to go. It was a slow puncture so I decided not to stop to change it and drove for about 15km like that. It was the right decision.

“It’s annoying when your young team-mate is beating you, and it wasn’t the car or my road position that was the reason why Jari-Matti is so far ahead of me. He’s driven very well. The time gap between myself and Loeb is what I expected but the difference to Jari-Matti is far more than I thought. I need to find more speed tomorrow. This morning’s conditions were as I expected. It was difficult in the braking areas and the loose gravel meant there was no traction accelerating out of the bends,” he said.

News from our Rivals

After pre-event dramas yesterday when Sébastien Loeb’s (Citroen) engine was changed before later being reinstalled, the Frenchman emerged as Latvala’s closest challenger. He won three stages and is 12.8sec ahead of Chris Atkinson (Subaru), whose only concerns were a launch control difficulty this morning and a faulty intercom this afternoon. Team-mate Petter Solberg dropped 40sec this morning with brake problems but won two stages to lie fourth, 8.7sec ahead of Hirvonen. Henning Solberg (Ford) is sixth, despite hitting a rock on the second stage and bending his car’s rear left suspension. He lost almost two minutes. Gigi Galli (Ford) slid into a ditch on stage three and dropped 90sec when lying fourth, before the Stobart driver retired on the next stage after hitting a rock and breaking a steering arm. He will not restart due to a damaged roll cage. Dani Sordo (Citroen) retired on the opening test with broken front left suspension after hitting a rock. Toni Gardemeister (Suzuki) lost more than 18min after limping through the morning with intermittent throttle response, before retiring in stage four with an engine problem. Team-mate Per-Gunnar Andersson retired from sixth in the mid-leg service with a similar problem and neither will restart tomorrow.

After establishing a strong early season lead in the FIA World Rally Championship on asphalt and snow, BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team journeys to North America next week for the first of seven consecutive gravel events. Loose surface roads are the dominant terrain in the series, hosting 10 of the 15 rounds, and so Rally Mexico (28 February – 2 March) will offer the best guideline to date for the season ahead.

The Ford Focus RS World Rally Car claimed a clean sweep of the podium positions in Sweden earlier this month with BP Ford Abu Dhabi on the top two steps. Combined with second place on the season-opener in Monte Carlo in January, the reigning world manufacturers’ champion travels to this third round with a 10-point lead. Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen are six points clear in the drivers’ table with Sweden winners Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila tied in second.

Ford is a major sponsor of the rally, which is based in León in the centre of the country. It is the first of three consecutive rounds outside Europe and is also the highest in the championship. Most speed tests are over 2000m and the first leg climbs to more than 2700m on hillsides awash with cacti and water crossings. The altitude takes its toll on cars as the thinner air means engines ‘run out of breath’ and can lose up to 30 per cent of their usual power.

The special stages are fast and flowing and average speeds last year topped 96kph. They are mostly hard-packed gravel, although some are sandier, and organisers worked closely with local authorities to build stages for the rally that also opened up new link roads for isolated villages.

Hirvonen, whose best finish in his three previous starts was third last year, will be first in the start order on the opening day courtesy of being championship leader for the first time in his career.

“First on the road isn’t the best place to be in Mexico because there will be loose gravel and stones on the road surface,” said the 27-year-old Finn. “It’s better to be further down the order where the roads will be cleaner but I don’t mind putting up with that if it means I lead the championship. I really don’t want to start first on Saturday or Sunday though, and it will be interesting to see if tactics come into play at the end of the first day as drivers try to obtain a better start position for the rest of the weekend.

“Technically the roads are a mix. About 50 per cent is quite straightforward and the rest is more difficult. There are also plenty of stones on the edge of the road. In the past, with puncture-resistant mousse in the tyres, that wouldn’t have been a problem but now it’s something I have to think about more carefully. The altitude is the most difficult aspect because the higher the stages, the less power there is and sometimes when you need the power it isn’t there. I will attack as hard as I can from the start. We had a good test last week and I was pleased with Pirelli’s gravel tyre. I’m not concerned about punctures or tyre wear,” added Hirvonen.

Latvala became the youngest driver in history to win a WRC round in Sweden last month on only his second outing with the BP Ford Abu Dhabi team. The 22-year-old Finn acknowledges that victory imposed demands on him that he had not experienced before. “It was a surprise because I didn’t expect so much media interest and I was very busy handling interviews for a few days after the rally,” he said.

“I don’t have as much experience in Mexico compared to some other rounds and I need to be a bit calmer than in Sweden. Another win isn’t a realistic aim and I would be happy with a top three position. I was very satisfied with last week’s test. Pirelli’s tyres felt strong. I had a couple of impacts with stones but no punctures so I have no concerns.

Latvala was seventh last year, his best result from just two starts, and has learned to be cautious of the water crossings. “In the recce the roads are in good condition but it’s surprising how many big impacts the cars can take during the rally itself. Where the water flows down from the mountains and crosses the roads, the concrete crossings can be deep and after a fast section the car can take quite a hard impact there,” he explained.

Team News

* The team prepared for the rally with a four-day test at Chateau Lastours in France following the Swedish Rally. It was the first opportunity for both Hirvonen and Latvala to test Pirelli’s new gravel tyre. Each drove for two days, concentrating on tyre work and completing about 400km each with no punctures. They also tested some new development parts for the Focus RS.

* As part of the sport’s new regulations, BP Ford Abu Dhabi will have just one tyre pattern from new partner, Pirelli. The Scorpion gravel tyre, which will make its competitive debut in Mexico, will be available in hard compound only. Because anti-deflation mousse is also outlawed this year, the Scorpion includes reinforced sidewalls to offer increased protection against punctures Teams are not allowed to hand-carve additional cuts into the rubber and each car can carry two spares.

* Four other Focus RS cars will start the rally. Gigi Galli / Giovanni Bernacchini and Matthew Wilson / Scott Martin will be nominated for points by the Stobart VK M-Sport team. The Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team will make its season debut with Henning Solberg / Cato Menkerud and Federico Villagra / Jorge Pérez Companc nominated to score. Rally Mexico is not part of the programme for Abu Dhabi’s Khalid Al Qassimi / Michael Orr.

Rally Route

Mexico was a late inclusion in the calendar following the withdrawal of Rally Australia. The route is virtually identical to 2007 with just a few small variations to some stages. It has the shortest route ever for a WRC event, covering just 830.83km with a remarkable 43 per cent of that being competitive. It is based in León, 400km north of Mexico City, with stages to the north and east. It is the highest round in the series, with the opening day’s Ortega test climbing through cacti-filled mountains to a breathtaking 2737m. It begins on Thursday evening with a spectacular ceremonial start in Guanajuato, which last year was packed with more than 60,000 fans. The town is a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site, famed for its beauty and underground road network. The opening two days comprise two identical loops of three stages before two passes over a super special stage at León’s race circuit. The track also hosts a double run on Sunday morning to bring the rally to a close. Drivers tackle 20 stages covering 353.75km.

BP-Ford World Rally Team lies third and fourth following today’s opening leg of Rally de España during which the ever-changing road conditions sparked a fascinating game of tactics between the major players. Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen lead the BP-Ford squad in third in a Focus RS World Rally Car while team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen are fourth in a similar vehicle. Each won one of the day’s six asphalt speed tests.

Tyre selection was the dominant factor as the conditions in the mountains near Salou, south of Barcelona, changed from wet this morning to dry by early afternoon and back to wet again this evening. Forecasting how quickly the roads would dry and estimating exactly when the rain would fall was the name of the game as teams calculated whether to opt for dry or wet weather set-up on their cars for the three groups of special stages.

Torrential rain forced organisers to cancel last night’s start ceremony for this 12th round of the FIA World Rally Championship after the seafront roads in Salou became flooded. Instead drivers, officials and team personnel paid their tributes to ex-Ford driver and world champion Colin McRae during an emotional 15-minute ceremony at the rally headquarters. Today drivers tackled two laps of two stages north-east of the town before a final loop of two tests to the west, totalling 148.05km.

Grönholm made a perfect start by winning the opening stage but as temperatures rose and the wet roads began to dry, the 39-year-old Finn slipped to third. He opted for BFGoodrich’s medium soft compound tyres with additional cuts hand-carved into the rubber for the second loop in expectation of mixed conditions. However, the roads were bone dry and he dropped time to Sébastien Loeb, his arch rival for the drivers’ title.

A dry weather set-up and tyres were the perfect choice for the first stage of the final loop and Grönholm ate into Loeb’s advantage with second fastest time. However, as he sat on the start line of the final test, the rain began to fall and Loeb’s softer specification for wet weather paid dividends as the Frenchman stretched his lead to 50.6sec over Grönholm.

“It felt like I could go off on every corner so I drove cautiously,” he said. “I need to think about the points to be gained from third place rather than risk losing everything by chasing Loeb in the rain on the wrong tyres. I had no feeling with the car in the wet and I was scared to push. The car was great in the dry on the previous stage but the rain came just 15 minutes too early. I hate this inconsistent weather and I hope tomorrow is dry so that I can keep the pressure on in case Seb makes a mistake.

“This morning I had the right tyres. On the middle loop I expected the roads to be mainly dry but wet in the shade, and there were a lot of trees alongside the roads. But they were totally dry and I had too many cuts in the tyres which were moving all the time. I knew after just a few hundred metres of the first stage in the group that it was the wrong choice,” he added.

BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson admitted this evening’s tyre choice was risky. “We knew the penultimate stage was dry and there was a risk of showers on the final test. We took a gamble, knowing that if the last stage stayed dry we would make a big time gain, and if not we would not lose position. If we had opted for the same set-up as Loeb we would have gained no time,” he said.
Hirvonen held fourth throughout the day. He was uncomfortable in the wet this morning but was much happier as the conditions dried out and was fastest on the penultimate stage before the rain returned. He is just 2.6sec behind his team-mate.

“At the start of the first stage, on damp roads, I had no confidence,” he explained. “I was seven seconds slower than Marcus on the first 4km. It was the right tyre choice, it was just a struggle for me in those conditions. The car was happy, it’s just the driver that wasn’t! I felt more comfortable with my driving on the drier roads and I had a better feeling. It’s tricky to choose the right set-up when conditions are mixed like this. The whole package has to be exactly right to set the best times. Now I need to keep the pressure on tomorrow to try to keep François Duval behind me. It’s important for the team’s title challenge and for Marcus’ title hopes that we both finish ahead of him.”

Abu Dhabi’s Khalid Al Qassimi and Nicky Beech were 14th in another BP-Ford Focus RS on their Spanish debut until a conservative approach in the wet this evening dropped them to 18th. “I have sampled a wide range of new experiences today. It was foggy this morning and then on the final stage the rain was so heavy that I decided not to take risks. The windscreen misted and a wiper broke so I had to peer around that to see the road,” he said.

After a five-week break from competition, BP-Ford World Rally Team takes its FIA World Rally Championship lead to Spain for the first of two asphalt events on consecutive weekends that will go a long way towards deciding the outcome of the 2007 titles. The squad takes a 46-point advantage in the manufacturers’ series and a 10-point lead in the drivers’ standings to Rally de España (4 – 7 October) as the 16-round series approaches its decisive phase.

It is the first of five events in nine weekends in a hectic end-of-season flurry. After a year in the early part of the season in March, the rally has reverted to autumn and forms the first part of a double-header with the Rallye de France in Corsica the following weekend.

Having recently announced their retirement at the end of this season, championship leaders Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen are eager to end their glittering careers with a third world drivers’ title. Both the Finns and team-mates and fellow countrymen Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen are also aware of the importance of the two sealed-surface events as they aim to retain the manufacturers’ crown for the Blue Oval with the Ford Focus RS World Rally Car.

This 12th round of the 16-rally championship is again based at Salou, on the Costa Daurada coast, south-west of Barcelona. The sweeping roads of the Tarragona region are smooth but can be highly abrasive. The speed tests are the most flowing in the calendar and are more similar to a race circuit in their characteristics than any other round. Drivers take massive cuts across the open corners, often placing virtually all the car onto the grass in an attempt to shave tenths of a second from their times. This drags dirt and stones onto the asphalt, making the special stages slippery for a second pass.

Grönholm has started in Spain on eight occasions, his best result coming in 2004 when he was second. The 39-year-old’s determination to end his career on a high will see him fly to Britain for asphalt tuition on Monday from acclaimed coach and former FIA Endurance Touring Car champion Rob Wilson, before heading to Spain for Tuesday’s recce.

“I’ve not worked with Rob before but Mikko has spent time with him and Malcolm regards him highly,” said Grönholm. “I think it will help fine tune my asphalt driving and perhaps give me some small ideas where I can save a few tenths of a second. We’ll look at areas like braking points and the entrance speed at corners so that I can accelerate harder and get more speed coming out of them.”

Grönholm was the fastest driver in Spain in 2006, winning 10 of the 16 stages and leading on the first morning before turbo troubles cost time. “I like the fast roads, they are like a race circuit in places. The most difficult aspect for me is the dirt that is pulled onto the roads during the first pass. It’s slippery during the second run and, if they are not cleaned, also on those stages that are run in both directions because the dirt is then on parts of the road that you do not expect. That’s where the work of the safety crews is important in driving the stages and alerting us to the awkward parts,” he added.

Hirvonen has fond memories of the rally, claiming his first WRC podium with third place in a Focus RS in 2005. This will be his fifth start in Spain. “That was one of the big results that really started things moving in my career,” he said. “It proved I had the required speed on asphalt as well as loose surfaces. It’s the fastest asphalt event in the championship and of all the four sealed surface rallies in the series, this is the one where I can be the most competitive. I would like to fight for a win here.

“The roads are fast and flowing and the surface is generally smooth. But there are also some quite sections and a lot of gravel and dirt becomes dragged onto the surface through drivers cutting corners. It’s vital to be absolutely perfect in finding the right braking points and the correct line through the bends. On gravel it’s easier to regain control by sliding the car if a mistake is made but on asphalt an error can prove more costly,” added the 27-year-old Finn.

Abu Dhabi-backed Khalid Al Qassimi and Nicky Beech will pilot a third BP-Ford Focus RS on their third outing with the team. “I’m looking forward to it,” said 35-year-old Al Qassimi. “It’s been quite a while since Rallye Deutschland but now I have one asphalt event under my belt, so I have a much better idea of how the car performs on that surface and can use the experience I gained in Germany to good effect. Once again, the objective is to gain as much experience as possible.

The rally takes place in the Holy Month of Ramadan, when the rhythm of life changes as Muslims are not permitted to eat or drink between sunrise and sunset. “However, Muslims who have to travel are excused from fasting, so long as they fast for the same number of days on their return. This means that I am able to eat and drink during the rally, making my involvement possible,” he added.

Team News

* BP-Ford will have two tread patterns to choose from. BFGoodrich’s g-Force Profiler is available in soft, medium and hard compounds for dry asphalt while the Profiler H pattern for wet roads is available in a medium / soft compound. If the rain is heavy, engineers will carve additional cuts into the H pattern. The grooves can be either longitudinal to combat aquaplaning or lateral for extra braking and traction.

* A record 13 Focus RS WRCs have been entered for the rally – the largest number of WRCs from a single manufacturer ever seen on a championship round. It beats the previous best of 11 Focus RS cars which started August’s Rally Finland.

* BP-Ford will enter a Focus RS WRC for Hirvonen on the Cork ’20′ International Rally, the final round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, this weekend (29 – 30 September). The entry will provide the team with more experience of Irish roads in preparation for the WRC’s maiden visit to Rally Ireland in November and follows Grönholm’s victory on the Galway Rally there in February.

Rally Route

The route is broadly similar to 2006 with the stages located in the Tarragona region, south of Barcelona. There are two new stages during the second leg and minor changes to two others but the remaining tests are identical to last year. The single service park at Salou’s PortAventura theme park is also retained. After Thursday evening’s start ceremony in Salou, Friday’s opening leg is the longest of the rally with 148.05km of competition. Saturday’s second leg includes a double pass over Thursday’s shakedown road but in the opposite direction. All tests except Friday’s late afternoon stages are used twice. There are 18 stages in total covering 352.87km in a total route of 1359.96km.

As the FIA World Rally Championship approaches the halfway point, reigning champion and current leader BP-Ford faces what most regard as two of the toughest events of the season in just three weekends. Round seven of the 16-event series takes the team to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia for Rally d’Italia Sardegna (17 – 20 May), a gravel rally which ranks among the most abrasive and demanding of the year.

Following the disappearance of Cyprus and Turkey from the 2007 calendar, Rally d’Italia Sardegna and next month’s Acropolis Rally of Greece are the only Mediterranean gravel events this year and both have a reputation for being hard. In Sardinia a fine sandy surface masks a hard base beneath and once the early starters have swept the loose gravel away, the rocky roads combine with relatively high spring temperatures to demand strong durability from BP-Ford’s BFGoodrich tyres.

Although the rally has been a WRC round for the past three seasons, BP-Ford drivers Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen and team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen cannot say they know the speed tests well. Organisers change much of the route annually and for the third successive year more than half of this year’s special stages will be new. However, the characteristics of the roads are familiar to both drivers as the island is regularly used as a test location by the team.

The rally is based in the industrial town of Olbia, in the Costa Smeralda region in the north of the island, but starts and finishes in Porto Cervo, one of Europe’s most exclusive holiday resorts. The stages contain a mix of narrow, twisty roads and more flowing tracks. While organisers have removed many of the roughest roads from the itinerary, there are still enough there to demand strength and reliability from the team’s Ford Focus RS World Rally Cars.

After extending its lead in the manufacturers’ championship on the last round in Argentina, BP-Ford goes to Sardinia with a nine-point advantage. Grönholm lies second in the drivers’ standings, just three points from the lead, and the 39-year-old Finn already has five podium finishes to his credit from six events this season.

“When we first started going to Sardinia the stages weren’t so enjoyable but organisers have removed some of the roughest and narrowest roads and they are wider and faster now, although there are still plenty of narrow sections,” he said. “It’s one of the most abrasive rounds of the championship and if the weather is hot it’s important to think about looking after the tyres. But the pace is such that it’s hard to think about driving at anything other than flat out.

“We’re making a few small set-up changes following Rally Argentina. There’s nothing major, just a few small tweaks that we hope will make improvements. The time difference between myself and Loeb on the first full day in Argentina was little more than a tenth of a second a kilometre. That’s not big, but it’s big enough and these days it’s not easy to find that kind of time. We’re all working hard to close that gap in Sardinia,” added Grönholm.

Hirvonen lies third in the drivers’ championship and was second here last year. “The rally is in the same area as always but each year the organisers make changes to the route to miss out certain sections and include new ones,” he said. “It doesn’t make a big difference. The most difficult aspect is that the stages are so narrow, even when they are faster and flowing, often with large stones right on the edge of the road. It’s important to be precise with my driving and equally so with my pace notes for the new sections.

“One of my targets for this season was to be closer to Marcus and Sébastien Loeb in terms of stage times. In Sweden, Norway and Mexico I achieved that but in Argentina that wasn’t the case. Maybe it was because I had less experience of the roads, but I drove too safely. So I want to find more speed and be braver in Sardinia,” he added.

BP-Ford World Rally Team increased its lead at the top of the FIA World Rally Championship after claiming a double podium finish on Rally Argentina today. Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen finished second on this sixth round of the 16-event series in a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car while team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen were third in a similar car.

The results enabled reigning manufacturers’ champion BP-Ford to widen its advantage in the 2007 title race to nine points. Grönholm and Hirvonen remain second and third in the drivers’ championship respectively.

Most of the opening leg was cancelled when several drivers became stranded in Buenos Aires, 700km south of the rally base in Carlos Paz, after the opening speed test there on Thursday night. Organisers added an additional special stage to today’s final leg to ensure the event completed the required two-thirds distance to award full points. Drivers tackled 246.36km of competition in total, much of it across the wide open plains for which Argentina is renowned.

Today’s itinerary took competitors into the rocky and twisty Traslasierra mountains for two loops of the famous Giulio Césare and El Cóndor tests, followed by a second pass over the super special stage at Cordoba’s soccer stadium. Massive overnight storms flooded the service park and caused considerable damage to teams’ equipment. They left the mountain stages, two of the toughest in the championship, in treacherous condition. The roads, which peak at 2195 metres, were muddy with thick fog in El Condor adding to the hazards.

Grönholm started in second, just 19.2sec behind Sébastien Loeb. The 39-year-old Finn attacked hard on the opening 23.18km Giulio Césare stage but dropped eight seconds after hitting some rocks. Accepting that finishing second was a better option than risk losing valuable points in trying to catch Loeb, Grönholm paced himself through the final four stages to finish 36.7sec behind the Frenchman. It was his fifth podium of the year.

“I went out to push hard this morning but the feeling wasn’t so good,” he said. “I ran wide and hit a stone with the rear of the car. I was worried it didn’t feel right and it was hard to stay on the road. I dropped eight seconds to Loeb so I knew the fight was over. I lost a few seconds after sliding off the road at the beginning of the second stage but after that I had no problems. It was a shame that the first leg was cancelled and that made it a strange rally. I’m disappointed that the fight with Seb wasn’t closer but second and third means that Ford has increased its lead.”

Hirvonen restarted in third, with no opportunity of catching anyone ahead or of being caught from behind. The 26-year-old Finn eased through the day to secure his fourth podium of the season, 2min 15.2sec behind Loeb.

“There was so much fog this morning that there were sections where visibility was down to 20 metres,” he said. “They were really tricky stages but that is the nature of this rally. Quite often here there is bad weather and fog to deal with. The car has been perfect but I’m a little disappointed with the weekend, although I can’t complain about six points and a podium. Maybe my lack of experience of these roads was the telling factor because when the stages were repeated I was much quicker.”

BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson was delighted with a strong team result. “Marcus and Loeb were on a different rally to anyone else in terms of pace and it seems Marcus is the only driver who can take the challenge to Seb. We increased our championship lead over Citroen and were helped by the Focus RS cars of the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team who took points from our rival,” he said.

Jost Capito, director of Ford TeamRS, said: “Four Ford Focus RS cars finished in the top five positions which emphasises the competitiveness and reliability of the Focus. Both championships remain close and we must continue to work as hard as possible to try to put Marcus back on top of the drivers’ standings.”

Both BP-Ford World Rally Team cars hold podium positions after today’s second leg of Rally Argentina. Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen won two speed tests on their way to second in a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, while team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen are third in another Focus RS.

After yesterday’s opening leg was virtually wiped out when some drivers were left stranded in Buenos Aires following transport delays, this sixth round of the FIA World Rally Championship began in earnest today. Competitors tackled five gravel special stages this morning on the sandy roads of the Punilla Valley, north of the rally base in Carlos Paz, before four more afternoon tests over faster and more flowing roads in the Calamuchita valley to the south – a total of 159.16km.

In contrast to the sunshine and high temperatures of the last few days, overcast skies and drizzle greeted drivers as they left this morning. Both Grönholm and Hirvonen opted for soft compound BFGoodrich tyres on their Focus RS cars throughout the day, with extra cuts carved in to help clear loose gravel on the drier sections and mud in the wetter areas.

Patchy fog and mud hampered drivers on the vast, open plains this morning but Grönholm climbed from fourth to second on the opening two stages. The 39-year-old Finn then set top three times in each of the next three stages to return to service in Carlos Paz in second, 15.4sec behind Sébastien Loeb. He won two of the four afternoon stages to end the leg 19.2sec behind his French rival.

“It was good to finally get started on the real stages this morning,” he said. “The roads were very rough and the underneath of the car was hitting the ground in places. I didn’t feel comfortable with that. We had no difficulties with the river crossings in the stages, although we went through a deep crossing after the finish of the first stage this morning and changed the air filter before the next test as a precaution.

“My confidence was good this afternoon and I drove at 110 per cent. The roads were superb and I had really good grip. We made the springs harder at the lunchtime service and the handling was great this afternoon. The gap between myself and Loeb isn’t huge and if it is foggy and tricky tomorrow then the time gaps on the long stages could be big,” added Grönholm.

Hirvonen set a consistent pace all morning, the 26-year-old Finn setting a quartet of fourth-fastest stage times to return to service in fourth, 41.4sec behind Loeb. Two top three stage times helped the Finn climb to third this afternoon when Petter Solberg retired. He is 1min 25.3sec behind Loeb.

“I just couldn’t find the speed,” admitted Hirvonen. “I struggled to find the right feeling and rhythm this morning. It was me, not the car. I was either pushing too hard or not hard enough. I just couldn’t get it right. Maybe it was a lack of knowledge of the stages but I had no chance to stay with Seb and Marcus. But I’m still in a strong position. I have no fight in front or behind tomorrow so I hope to conserve the position that I have and concentrate on finishing the rally.

“There were huge crowds alongside the stages. It’s great to see so many people, especially after the disappointment they had yesterday. The roads were great also. I love the fast sections and the jumps and when there is a big crowd there to watch it’s a real inspiration,” he added.

BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson said: “It has been a good day for us. Marcus has been involved in an exciting battle and it’s not all over yet with four long stages to come tomorrow. Mikko improved as the day progressed and he is in a comfortable position to score good points so long as he doesn’t make any mistakes.”

BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen lead Rally Argentina this evening after an opening leg in which virtually the entire itinerary was scrapped after transport problems left many drivers stranded in Buenos Aires last night. Just two short stadium-based speed tests were held, one last night in the Argentine capital and the other tonight in Cordoba, as organisers battled to salvage some action from a leg in which they cancelled seven special stages.

Hirvonen’s Ford Focus RS World Rally Car was fastest on both the 2.40km stage in Buenos Aires’ historic River Plate soccer stadium and the identical test in Cordoba’s soccer arena. The 26-year-old Finn comfortably beat Manfred Stohl on both occasions as two cars at a time raced side-by-side around three laps of the purpose-built loose-surface stages. He leads by 2.4sec from Dani Sordo.

“I have been fastest on every stage in the leg!” he joked. “There were many spectators in Cordoba tonight and it felt better to drive here than in Buenos Aires last night. I love this rally and I can’t wait for it to start properly tomorrow. With no action for most of today I have been catching up on some sleep and preparing for tomorrow by watching in-car videos of the stages from our recce,” he said.

Team-mates and fellow Finns Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen are fourth in another Focus RS, 3.0sec behind Hirvonen. Thirty-nine-year-old Grönholm defeated championship leader Sébastien Loeb by 0.9sec in the River Plate stadium but was edged out by 1.0sec in Cordoba. “It started to rain in Cordoba just before I started the stage and the surface, which was already wet, became even slippier. I didn’t enjoy it and after the problems today it was hard to become motivated for such a short stage. I’m looking forward to what I hope will be a better day tomorrow,” he said.

The problems for this sixth round of the FIA World Rally Championship began after last night’s stage in Buenos Aires, 700km south of the rally base in Carlos Paz. The drivers were due to return to Carlos Paz by plane, while the cars left for an overnight journey by transporter in readiness for today’s opening leg on the sandy gravel roads in the Punilla Valley, north of the town.

However, radar communication problems at Buenos Aires airport and then a huge storm delayed the flights by four hours. Two of the three charter flights eventually arrived at Cordoba airport, with drivers reaching their hotels in Carlos Paz at 03.30. However, more bad weather forced a third plane to turn back, stranding officials, team personnel and other drivers in Buenos Aires airport for the night. Fog at Cordoba this morning meant the flight was again unable to depart and some drivers did not reach their hotels until shortly before 17.00.

Organisers had to scrap seven stages, to the disappointment of the huge crowds waiting to see their heroes. Tomorrow’s leg will run as scheduled but organisers are considering changes to Sunday’s itinerary to ensure the rally completes the required two-thirds distance for full points to be awarded.

FIA World Rally Championship leader BP-Ford journeys to Argentina next week for an event that generates a special ambience unmatched anywhere else during the season. Rally Argentina (3 – 6 May) is south America’s only round in the 16-event series and while the passionate Latin American fans generate a party mood along the route, drivers face probably the most varied roads of the year.

The defending champion makes the long journey across the Atlantic Ocean to the land of the tango with an eight-point lead in the manufacturers’ standings for its Ford Focus RS World Rally Car. Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen lie second in the drivers’ championship, just a single point from the lead, while team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen are third.

This sixth round of the 16-rally series never fails to excite. It is surrounded by colour and the atmosphere crackles as an estimated 1.4 million spectators launch a weekend-long fiesta out in the pampas. The scenery is stunning, too, ranging from vast expanses of open plains north of the host town of Villa Carlos Paz to the mountains west of the town where rocky ribbons of road wind through a dramatic moon-like landscape. Add in an opening speed test at Buenos Aires’ iconic River Plate soccer stadium and the recipe is there for a south American sizzler.

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