Nasser Al-Attiyah enhanced his WRC 2 title credentials with a convincing second consecutive victory at Rally Argentina.
After building a comfortable lead in his Ford Fiesta RRC, the Qatari measured his pace through the final two days to win by 5min 35.7sec and climb to third in the standings.
Peru’s Nicolás Fuchs overcame several punctures to take second in another Fiesta RRC, with Diego Dominguez finishing third in a Fiesta R5 on his WRC 2 debut. The Paraguayan had a lucky escape in the final leg when he almost plunged over a cliff after mishearing a pace note.
Al-Attiyah led virtually from the start of the four-day event and his task was made easier when championship leader Yuriy Protasov rolled out of second place.
“We made a good strategy here,” said Al-Attiyah. “We worked hard this weekend from the beginning and we had no problems. Now we’re looking for the championship.”
Protasov, for whom this was a second straight non-score, holds a four-point lead over Lorenzo Bertelli, who finished fourth in Argentina after recovering from a second-day retirement. Al-Attiyah is a further six points behind.
Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari finished fifth after breaking a wheel on Friday while Miguel Zaldivar completed the top six.
Gustavo Saba was on course for fourth until his Skoda Fabia S2000 stopped in the opening stage of the final leg, while Quentin Gilbert was another last day casualty when he retired his Fiesta R5 three stages from the finish with broken suspension.
Juan Carlos Alonso won the Production Cup category within WRC 2. The Argentine drove his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X to a 3min 27.5sec victory over Augusto Bestard with Ramon Torres third. Max Rendina, who finished fifth, continues to lead the points table.