Day 2 coming up in Argentina

Day 2 is coming up in Carlos Paz, and the Petter Solberg World Rally Team is ready. Petter is car number 4 on the road today. – Yesterday was just over the moon, we were pushing and on the limit all the time, and now we are just 2 seconds behind the world champion!

Saturday 25. April (local time GMT -3hrs)
0938 SS10 El Mirador – San Lorenzo 1 20,81km
1012 SS11 Mina Clavero – Giulio Cesare 1 22,79km
1100 SS12 El Condor – Copina 1 16,29km
1146 SS13 Icho Cruz – Carlos Paz 1 9,73km
Service
1523 SS14 El Mirador – San Lorenzo 1 20,81km
1557 SS15 Mina Clavero – Giulio Cesare 2 22,79km
1645 SS16 El Condor – Copina 2 16,29km
1731 SS17 Icho Cruz – Carlos Paz 2 9,73km
1905 SSS18 Cordoba Stadium 2,40km

Phil tells us about today stages

SS10/14: El Mirador – San Lorenzo. 20.81km
“I don’t think this stage has been used since 2000. In my opinion it will be the twistiest stage of the rally – and one of the most difficult too – with massive suitcase sized rocks just by the side of the road. Get it just a little bit wrong and you’ll have a wheel off in here for sure. It opens out for the last two or three kilometres and gets very fast but other than that it’s tricky and technical.”

SS11/15: Mina Clavero – Guilio Cesare. 22.79km
“The famous El Condor stage, but run from the bottom to the top. It’s been a part of this rally for as long as I can remember. The base is smooth, sandy and rocky. Normally run on a Sunday, this year they’ve put it a day earlier. We’ve all seen pictures of the classic, rocky Argentinean landscape that looks like the surface of the moon. Well, this is it. The road rises to 10,400ft at the top and car performance gets less and less as the air gets thinner. Normally at around the 16km mark you actually go through the cloud base. So you’re looking up at the clouds at the start, and down on them at the finish.”

SS12/16: El Condor – Copina. 16.29km
“The exact opposite of SS11/15 because this is the descent through Condor. It’s the old, old main road from the 1940s, so it’s narrow, with suspension bridges and cuttings through rocks which are very tight to get through. The road itself has a sandy base and is littered with rocks. The last three kilometres are the exception, however. If it’s wet here the peculiar surface gets as slippery as ice, and it’s caused lots plenty of problems in the past.”

SS13/17: Icho Cruz – Carlos Paz. 9.73km
“This one has never been used before and from the look of it on the recce it could turn out to be one of the trickiest of the whole rally. It might be one of the shorter stages but it’s got a bit of everything – huge crests, off-camber corners, jumps, water-splashes – you name it. It starts off rocky, on a loose wide main road, and then turns into a roller coaster of crests and jumps and tricky technical corners. From the six kilometre point it opens out to a flat out dash to the line, but there are plenty of rocks around to watch out for.”

SS18: Cordoba Stadium Super Special 2.40km
“This year the track has a brand new kidney-shaped layout. Compared to most Super Specials this one’s a bit unusual because there are two tracks and two cars tackle them at the same time but in opposite directions. Each car does three laps. The surface is gravel which is sprayed with salt water to help it bind together. It should be a good show for the crowds.”