The 29th edition of the Rally of the Argentine Republic, successfully organized by the Automóvil Club Argentino within the framework of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), took place in Cordoba with a record of public and participants.
The festive occasion started on April 23 in Cordoba Stadium, also known as Chateau Carreras, where the vehicles could excel racing along a track built inside the stadium. The following days the crowd of fans moved to the wonderful natural landscapes offered by the province, crossing its three valleys with their most varied types of tracks.
All ended with a big party in the Chateau Carreras, and as promised, Sébastien Loeb, the Master of the Rally, together with his partner Daniel Elena, again retained the championship. He obtained his fifth victory in a row with his Citroën C4, also achieving his fifth triumph in the 2009 World Rally Championship so far. The Frenchman won six of the nine special tests in dispute.
The second final position was for his team partner Dani Sordo, and Norwegian Henning Solberg (Ford Focus RS/ Stobart VK M-Sport) finished third. Argentine Federico Villagra (Ford Focus RS/ Munchi’s Ford) reached an acclaimed fourth place, his best position in a World Championship test.
The performance of Cordoba-born Federico Villagra merits a separate mention since by reaching the fourth place he achieved his best position in a test of the WRC. He did an excellent task on the basis of a stable race rhythm and was able to pay back to his devoted public all the support given in each stage of the competition.
The Production Group was led during the three days by the Argentine pilots. Local Juan Marchetto was second (ninth in the general), and Cordoba-born Marcos Ligato was third (tenth in the general).
In the JWRC the winner was Polish Michal Kosciuszko (Suzuki Swift), escorted by German Aaron Burkart, also with Suzuki, and third, Italian Alessandro Bettega in a Renault Clio.
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Our President, Dr. Jorge Rosales, greets the winner, Sébastian Loeb
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The president of our branch in Córdoba, Mr. Juan Turello, with Federico Villagra
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