Fuchs regains WRC 2 lead in Argentina
Al-Kuwari down to third after roll
Fuchs tops WRC 2 in Argentina
Nicolas Fuchs fought back from opening day dramas to win WRC 2 at YPF Rally Argentina on Sunday afternoon.
The Peruvian was the early pacesetter before a broken steering pump in his Ford Fiesta R5 cost two minutes, co-driver Fernando Mussano changing gear as Fuchs wrestled with the steering wheel. He later had to stop and change a puncture, tumbling to fourth.
But the rough gravel speed tests also took their toll on his rivals and he battled up the order to regain the lead yesterday when Abdulaziz Al Kuwari rolled. After that it was a matter of avoiding problems for Fuchs rather than showing outright pace and he won by 4min 36.9sec.
Pole Hubert Ptaszek also dropped time with punctures but the Peugeot 208 T16 R5 driver maintained a consistent pace to take second and now lies second in the points after four rounds.
Third for Al-Kuwari was scant reward having been on course for victory but it netted a strong haul of points for the Skoda Fabia R5 driver on his season debut.
Championship leader Elfyn Evans finished fourth in a Fiesta R5, the Welshman quickest through all three of today’s special stages in the Traslasierra mountains. However, electrical problems sidelined him on Friday and the time penalties left him too far back to recover, but his series lead remained intact.
Augusto Bestard was the only other finisher in fifth, perseverance paying off for the Paraguayan after he failed to finish both Friday and Saturday’s legs.
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