Latvala leads Rally Argentina after a very eventful Friday

A VW led the way after the first full day of Rally Argentina, but it wasn't the VW that you'd expect. It was Jari-Matti Latvala who asserted himself at the top, a full 17.7 seconds ahead of Sebastien Ogier.

The duo went back and forth, fighting for the lead throughout all four stages Friday before Latvala emerged with the advantage when it was all said and done. Ogier was out front early, but Latvala responded by taking a 3.3 second lead before the mid-leg part of the day. Ogier then fought back before a phenomenal fourth stage by Latvala; one that his teammate simply could not match.

Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen, M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC

Photo by: M-Sport

There were two major incidents during the four stages of competition and attrition was the word of the day with multiple cars finding trouble.

A misjudgment by Mikko Hirvonen in the first stage led to him careening into a stone wall, launching his Ford into the air before it slammed back down on the gravel. Later on, Mads Ostberg struck a rock, severely damaging his left front wheel.

The third VW, driven by Andreas Mikkelsen, suffered from alternator issues and was forced to stop. Hyundai teammates Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville could not complete today's stages due to engine problems as well. All remain classified with none officially retiring from the event, but Rally 2 penalties will apply due to missed stages. Nasser Al-Attiyah currently tops WRC-2.

1. Jari-Matti Latvala - 1h 57m 36.3s

2. Sebastien Ogier - +17.7s

3. Kris Meeke - +1m 07.4s

4. Elfyn Evans - +3m 48.1s

5. Robert Kubica - +3m 48.3s

6. Martin Prokop - +4m 12.2s

7. Nasser Al-Attiyah - +5m 36.8s

8. Yuriy Protasov - +8m 22.0s

9. Diego Dominguez - +10m 36.5s

10. Gustavo Saba - +11m 43.0s