07/05/2012 | Federico Villagra (Ford) won the Rally de Tucumán, third round of the Argentine Rally Championship, and claimed his first victory in the event where he made its debut in 1997. On board his Ford Fiesta Maxi Rally "Coyote" beat Marcos Ligato (Chevrolet) by 10s to clinch his second consecutive triumph this year and reach the lead in the standings.
Ligato was one of the main candidates for this event, since he had got the victory in two of the last three editions, and had a strong start during the first leg run on asphalt. Tango driver was leading the classification over Villagra by 6.1s after nine special stages run on sealed surface, and there was no margin for error for the gravel stages on Sunday.
The Chevrolet found some difficulties in sweeping the road, and after the first loop of three stages, Villagra had a cautious approach and reduced the gap with Ligato to 3.1s. However, after a remote Service Park, "Coyote" fine-tune his car to attack in the last three stages, especially in the SS14, the penultimate one, which featured several jumps and blind crests. And it was there where Villagra speeded up to defeat Ligato by 6.9s and finished him off in the last st age.
Ligato's team-mate and local hero Juan Gil De Marchi (Chevrolet) reached the podium after coming from sixth position. Rally de Tucumán's second leg took place in the city of Aguilares, Gil De Marchi's town, and was there where the Tango driver bounced back from a puncture and a broken damper on Saturday.
Scuderia Fiat's driver Claudio Menzi (Fiat) finished third on Saturday's leg after a spin which cost him the second position and the possibility to fight for the victory. But his luck didn't change on Sunday's stages, since he rolled his Fiat Palio Maxi Rally on SS10 and had to pushed harder than ever to made up for the lost time.
Barratec's driver Miguel Baldoni (VW) arrived in Tucuman leading the standings but was forced to abandon the first leg after he went off the road and severely damaged the front of his VW Gol Trend. He won the second leg and that enabled him to remain a bit closer from Villagra and Menzi in the standings.
Rally de Tucumán - Final Classification
1º) F. Villagra-D. Curletto (Ford) 1h31m11,3s
2º) M. Ligato-R. García (Chevrolet) +10s
3º) J. Gil De Marchi-M. Albornoz (Chevrolet) +35,1s
4º) C. Menzi-D. Cagnotti (Fiat) +1m09,6s
5º) G. Pozzo-D. Stillo (Fiat) +1m09,8s
6º) D. Domínguez-E. Galindo (KIA) +1m11,2s
7º) G. Padilla-J. Drago (Ford) +1m47s
8º) N. Díaz-L. Allende (Ford) +2m24,4s
9º) A. Cancio-S. García (Peugeot) +3m08,2s
10º) A. Marchetto-M. Bazán (Mitsubishi) +3m09,7s
Championship: Villagra 91, Menzi 82, Baldoni 77, Domínguez 71, Gil De Marchi 50.
Photo attached: Federico Villagra (Ford Fiesta Maxi Rally)
Credit Rally Argentino
You can find more images in www.rallyargentino.org.ar/media
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