..::: Campeonato Argentino de Rally 2011 :::..

[CABAIO E'LONA]

The new Maxi Rally cars boost a new promising season

The Argentine Rally Championship is set to start a new and promising season this weekend with the Rally de Areco, the first of eleven rounds scheduled for this year, to be held in the province of Buenos Aires.

After 15 years characterized by the fight between Mitsubishi and Subaru, this season will offer new challenges for both the teams and drivers as the new generation of cars break into the national rally scenery before spreading over South America.

The brand new Maxi Rally class will officially carry out its first campaign with an important number of cars that will stand for six marks. The arrival of Chevrolet, Volkswagen, Fiat, Ford, Peugeot and KIA will enhance the importance of the series as one of the most competitive of the world.

This weekend the crews head to San Antonio de Areco, 120 kilometres far from the Argentine capital, where the ceremonial start will take place. The season will kick off in front of the Argentine Automobile Club, in the busy area of the Del Libertador Avenue.

The first showdown of the year features soft and high speed roads, and ideal venue for the teams to check out the general functioning of the Maxi Rally cars before tackling the first compromise in the mountains. The rally will cover 145,44 km of competitive distance distributed in 12 special stages.

A new era has come

Last year the Baretec team was the first in introduced a Maxi Rally car, a VW Gol Trend driven by Claudio Menzi. This season, however, the Barattero brothers will line-up four cars for the 2010 runner-up Gabriel Pozzo, the two-time South American Champion Raúl Martínez, the young and promising Miguel Baldoni and Sebastián Abramian.

On the other hand Chevrolet, Fiat and Ford will officially back the Tango, EZD and VRS teams respectively. The first one comes with one of the Agile models for Marcos Ligato. The EZD Competicion already has two Fiat Punto for Claudio Menzi and the Italian driver Cristian Conffeti. As for the team of the Villagra brothers, they will embark just one Ford Fiesta to Areco which will be driven by the reigning champion Federico Villagra.

Finally Alejandro Cancio will run a private Peugeot 207, as well as Paraguayan Diego Domínguez will do it with a KIA Rio. It's expected that more drivers make their appearance at the wheel of a Maxi Rally car before the midseason.

[CABAIO E'LONA]

Shakedown Pictures
Federico Villagra, driver of Munchis in WRC...
http://www.rallyargentino.org.ar/galeria/Villagra_4.JPG

[CABAIO E'LONA]

Claudio Menzi, Fiat Punto MR
http://www.rallyargentino.org.ar/galeria/Menzi_5.JPG

Marcos Ligato, Chevrolet Agile MR
http://www.rallyargentino.org.ar/galeria/Ligato_5.JPG
Alejandro Cancio Peugeot 207 Compact MR
http://www.rallyargentino.org.ar/galeria/Cancio_4.JPG
Diego Dominguez (Paraguay) Kia Rio MR
http://www.rallyargentino.org.ar/galeria/Dominguez.JPG

[vino_93]

beautiful pics ! :D

[dimviii]

http://www.rallyargentino.org.ar/tiempos2010/2011/carrera01/MENU.HTM

[Co-driven]

What are the tyres used on the Argentinean Championship? They have to use Pirelli's or it's possible to choose?

[CABAIO E'LONA]

What are the tyres used on the Argentinean Championship? They have to use Pirelli's or it's possible to choose?

Pirelli,since last year... before it was Silverstone and then Kumho.

[CABAIO E'LONA]

In an complicated Rally, that had to be canceled by heavy rains over the weekend,Juan Marchetto (VRS Mitsubishi) emerged as winner of the Rally de Areco, Capitán Sarmiento and Baradero, opening Rally of Argentinian Championship, for their first victory in their career.
The second day of racing started with a stroke of important scene because Marchetto almost unwittingly became the new leader of the rally fostered by the retirement of Luciano Bernardi (Tango Mitsubishi) and the delay of Alejandro Levy (VRS Mitsubishi).The next competition will be the Rally Villa Dolores, which takes place from 22 to 24 April in the province of Cordoba.

http://www.rallyargentino.org.ar/foto_noti/march23.jpg

[Co-driven]

Pirelli,since last year... before it was Silverstone and then Kumho.

Is it the Pirelli Pzero that was used on the Codasur until 2010?

[Solberg]

Is it the Pirelli Pzero that was used on the Codasur until 2010?
yes, they are using the Pirelli P-Zero

[CABAIO E'LONA]

Is it the Pirelli Pzero that was used on the Codasur until 2010?

Yes, The PZero.

[Co-driven]

What happened to Sebastian Beltran? I haven't seen any news from him for the last 2-3 years...

[CABAIO E'LONA]

What happened to Sebastian Beltran? I haven't seen any news from him for the last 2-3 years...

Sebastian "Batata" Beltrán had trouble with the organization of the Rally Argentina, in the Rally de Catamarca of 2008, this time, he voluntary retires before taking the start ... after that, he was in the Rally "Gran Premio" in Unquillo-Rio Ceballos that year as a participant-organizer.
That was his last rally in Argentina.

[CABAIO E'LONA]

The first round of the Argentine Rally Championship was far to be the great showdown forecast prior to the last weekend.

The presentation of the brand new Maxi Rally cars was in the spotlight of everyone in the Service Area, and the Shakedown held on Friday really boost the enthusiasm of thousands of fans eager to see how the action would develop during the weekend. However, all the expectations fell down when the rain took the leading role.

The Rally de Areco could hardly be run last weekend due to a deluge that struck heavily in all the area affected to the race flooded most of the roads. The result was five stages and less than a hundred of kilometres available to be tackled.

On Saturday Luciano Bernardi (Tango Mitsubishi) took an early lead after setting three consecutive fastest times. Behind, Alejandro Levy (VRS Mitsubishi) and Juan Marchetto (VRS Mitsubishi) settled in podium position taking advantage of the boost given by the turbocharges on the classic N4 cars over the normal aspirated Maxi Rally cars. However, the remaining stage was won by Miguel Baldoni in a VW Gol followed some tenths adrift by team-mate Gabriel Pozzo. The 2010 runner-up finished the day in an expectable fourth position with Baldoni watching his back.

For the second day the weather got worst and forced the stewards to cancelled four special stages with only one in good condition to be run. It was in that decisive stage where Marchetto stunned his opponents as the same time he capitalized a broken engine in Bernardi's Mitsubishi and an off of road from Levy.

Virtually leader of the race, Marchetto push harder than ever to secure his first victory in his career leaving Pozzo and Baldoni behing by more than 30 seconds. Eventually, after the final scrutineering the history turned out to be a bit different since it was known that Marchetto built his incredible advantage after missing a of the chicane put in the stage. Juan received a penalty of 30 second to claim the win for just 1,9s. over Pozzo.

For reigning champion Federico Villagra his debut at the wheel of the Ford Fiesta was as chaotic as the race. After completing the first stage on Saturday, a pipe of the fuel supplying system broke down leaving "Coyote" run out of gasoline in the liaison section. Sunday was any better for him and this time the Fiesta was hit by gearbox troubles.

Final classification

1º) Juan Marchetto-José Díaz (Mitsubishi)
2º) Gabriel Pozzo-Daniel Stillo (Volkswagen)
3º) Miguel Baldoni-Gustavo Franchello (Volkswagen)
4º) Raúl Martínez-Fernando Mussano (Volkswagen)
=) Diego Domínguez-Edgardo Galindo (Kia)
6º) Gerónimo Padilla-Richard Kember (Mitsubishi)
7º) José Cantón-Rodolfo Amelio Ortiz (Mitsubishi)
8º) Claudio Menzi-Diego Cagnotti (Fiat)

[CABAIO E'LONA]

The first round of the Argentine Rally Championship was far to be the great showdown forecast prior to the last weekend.

The presentation of the brand new Maxi Rally cars was in the spotlight of everyone in the Service Area, and the Shakedown held on Friday really boost the enthusiasm of thousands of fans eager to see how the action would develop during the weekend. However, all the expectations fell down when the rain took the leading role.

The Rally de Areco could hardly be run last weekend due to a deluge that struck heavily in all the area affected to the race flooded most of the roads. The result was five stages and less than a hundred of kilometres available to be tackled.

On Saturday Luciano Bernardi (Tango Mitsubishi) took an early lead after setting three consecutive fastest times. Behind, Alejandro Levy (VRS Mitsubishi) and Juan Marchetto (VRS Mitsubishi) settled in podium position taking advantage of the boost given by the turbocharges on the classic N4 cars over the normal aspirated Maxi Rally cars. However, the remaining stage was won by Miguel Baldoni in a VW Gol followed some tenths adrift by team-mate Gabriel Pozzo. The 2010 runner-up finished the day in an expectable fourth position with Baldoni watching his back.

For the second day the weather got worst and forced the stewards to cancelled four special stages with only one in good condition to be run. It was in that decisive stage where Marchetto stunned his opponents as the same time he capitalized a broken engine in Bernardi's Mitsubishi and an off of road from Levy.

Virtually leader of the race, Marchetto push harder than ever to secure his first victory in his career leaving Pozzo and Baldoni behing by more than 30 seconds. Eventually, after the final scrutineering the history turned out to be a bit different since it was known that Marchetto built his incredible advantage after missing a of the chicane put in the stage. Juan received a penalty of 30 second to claim the win for just 1,9s. over Pozzo.

For reigning champion Federico Villagra his debut at the wheel of the Ford Fiesta was as chaotic as the race. After completing the first stage on Saturday, a pipe of the fuel supplying system broke down leaving "Coyote" run out of gasoline in the liaison section. Sunday was any better for him and this time the Fiesta was hit by gearbox troubles.

Final classification

1º) Juan Marchetto-José Díaz (Mitsubishi)
2º) Gabriel Pozzo-Daniel Stillo (Volkswagen)
3º) Miguel Baldoni-Gustavo Franchello (Volkswagen)
4º) Raúl Martínez-Fernando Mussano (Volkswagen)
=) Diego Domínguez-Edgardo Galindo (Kia)
6º) Gerónimo Padilla-Richard Kember (Mitsubishi)
7º) José Cantón-Rodolfo Amelio Ortiz (Mitsubishi)
8º) Claudio Menzi-Diego Cagnotti (Fiat)

[CABAIO E'LONA]

Menzi gives Fiat and the Maxi Rally their first victory


Claudio Menzi cruised to seal the first win for a Maxi Rally car in the Rally de Villa Dolores, second round of the Argentine Rally Championship held in the province of Córdoba.

At the wheel of a Fiat Punto MR, the former PWRC starter shined to come up with an outstanding victory that enabled the official Scuderia Fiat to come back to the spotlight after 15 years outside of the rally competitions.

Menzi secured the win early on Sunday, after Gabriel Pozzo (Volkswagen), the only one who could match the Fiat's pace, crashed on the PE 9 while being in second position and only 14,6s. adrift the lead.

Pozzo incredible bounced back on Saturday after receiving a one-minute penalty for some irregularities during the recce. The 2010 runner-up won six of the seven stages run on the first day of action. Regrettably he couldn't finish his heroic job.

Marcos Ligato (Chevrolet) inherited the second position, however, he suffered of engine troubles as well as Miguel Baldoni (Volkswagen), who also couldn't made his way through the final day giving up his chances of finishing behind Menzi with just one stage remaining.

Finally José Cantón (Mitsubishi) came in second position with a faultless run whereas Juan Gil De Marchi (Mitsubishi) completed the podium.

The highly demanded roads of the Traslasierra Valley meant a difficult task to sort out for both the driver and the machines and many candidates dropped out the race with different mechanical issues.

Once again Federico Villagra (Ford) was forced to abandon early in the competition with an engine failure. For sure this was not the best start for "Coyote" on his way to defence his ninth title.

RALLY ARGENTINO - VILLA DOLORES
FINAL CLASSIFICATION

1 MENZI, Claudio FIAT 1.37.29,1
2 CANTON, Jose MITSUBISHI 1.39.54,8 2.25,7
3 GIL DE MARCHI, Juan MITSUBISHI 1.40.01,1 2.32,0
4 MARCHETTO, Juan M. MITSUBISHI 1.40.46,4 3.17,3
5 MARTIN, Ivo SUBARU 1.41.42,7 4.13,6
6 ALONSO, Juan SUBARU 1.44.05,1 6.36,0
7 DIAZ, Nicolas MITSUBISHI 1.45.40,3 8.11,2
8 ROSSI, Agustin MITSUBISHI 1.46.22,3 8.53,2
9 MONARCA, Gonzalo MITSUBISHI 1.46.26,9 8.57,8
10 BENETTI, Sergio MITSUBISHI 1.49.45,8 12.16,7

[CABAIO E'LONA]

The action moves down to the South



The Argentine Rally Championship will dispute this weekend the third round of its 2011 season to be held in the Patagonian region of Cutral-Có and Plaza Huincual, main cities of a well-known oil producer shire.

First held in 2001, the Rally of the Petroleum and Dinosaurs has nothing to do with the conditions faced in the previous events. After the plain terrain of Buenos Aires and the hilly stages of Córdoba, this event features a great variety of surfaces with the desert as common scenery.

After given the new Maxi Rally cars their maiden victory in the last Rally de Villa Dolores, Claudio Menzi will try to hold his leading position in the Championship with the official backed Fiat Punto.

The driver of Córdoba arrives this weekend with just 6,5 points over Juan Matchetto, who will give his old Mitsubishi Evo IX a final run before jumping to a brand new Ford Fiesta like the one his VRS team-mate Federico Villagra drives.

Despite enduring a troubled start of season "Coyote" remains confident to tip the scales in his favour. In the last edition of this race Villagra got the victory to bounce back and start an impressive bout of wins which led him to his ninth title.

On the other side the Team Baratec drivers Gabriel Pozzo and Miguel Baldoni, both at the command of a VW Gol Trend, are pointed out as candidates for claiming the victory, The 2010 runner-up is setting the pace on the road claiming the more stage winnings so far. As for Baldoni, the youngster heads to Neuquen in high-spirits after this second position in Sardinia last week within the WRC Academy.

Marcos Ligato is another driver in the spotlight. The Tango RT owner comes with a faster and more competitive Chevrolet Agile which claimed the second position overall before dropping out of the last race due to electrical issues.

Finally, Peugeot driver Alejandro Cancio arises as the other alternative to dispute the victory. The local hero is eager to matching the leader's pace after showing a great reliability but a lack of speed.

The race kicks off tonight with the ceremonial ramp, whereas the first of the twelve stages scheduled for this weekend will be tackle on Saturday at 10:23hs. In total the driver must run 140,60 kilometres.

[CABAIO E'LONA]

http://rallyargentino.org.ar/galeria/Villagra_7.JPG
http://rallyargentino.org.ar/galeria/med_Menzi_9.JPG
http://rallyargentino.org.ar/galeria/Martinez_2.JPG

[jonas_mcrae]

what a great championship you guys have in Argentina, big enty lists, competitive drivers and loads of manufacturers, even more than WRC! also I´ve seen some videos and the maxi rally cars look great and sound better, and speed wise, they are almost perfect to compete with Evos and Imprezas. Could someone give me more technical details of the MR cars? I heard the engine, differential and the gearbox are the same in all cars is this true?

[Solberg]

what a great championship you guys have in Argentina, big enty lists, competitive drivers and loads of manufacturers, even more than WRC! also I´ve seen some videos and the maxi rally cars look great and sound better, and speed wise, they are almost perfect to compete with Evos and Imprezas. Could someone give me more technical details of the MR cars? I heard the engine, differential and the gearbox are the same in all cars is this true?
Yes, our championship is getting better =)
it seems that nicolas madero (second overall in 2009) will return and a few more drivers with MR...
the things that you know about MR are correct, they have the same egine, Honda 2,4 290 hp prepared by Berta, 4WD from Subaru, and an italian sequential gearbox with 6 gears
all of these are the same for all of the MR, the rest is free
I hope this information is useful, sory for my english :P

[OldF]

they have the same egine, Honda 2,4 290 hp prepared by Berta, 4WD from Subaru, and an italian sequential gearbox with 6 gears all of these are the same for all of the MR, the rest is free

Any more information about building cost for these cars?

Who is the manufacturer of the gearbox?

Lot of work with the body shell.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUyR1xaOsa8&feature=player_embedded

[CABAIO E'LONA]

Any more information about building cost for these cars?

Who is the manufacturer of the gearbox?

Lot of work with the body shell.
YouTube - ‪El AGILE baila TANGO en la tierra‬‏ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUyR1xaOsa8&feature=player_embedded)

for the moment, there is no accurate information of what is the price of a MaxiRally, it could indicate that it is similar to the price of any PWRC... The gearbox is Subaru.

[CABAIO E'LONA]

Rally de Catamarca, fourth round of CAR, second victory of Federico Villagra...


Villagra is feeling more and more comfortable in the Fiesta.

http://rallyargentino.org.ar/foto_noti/Villagra_Ford_1.jpg
Villagra claimed an incredible victory in Catamarca

Federico Villagra (Ford) came up with an unbelievable victory in the Rally de Catamarca, fourth round of the Argentine Rally Championship, to claim his second win so far this season with the Fiesta Maxi Rally.

This round will be remember as one of the most extraordinary rallies of the last years, since there was five different leaders and three drivers dropping out of the race when leading the classification.

Juan Marchetto (Mitsubishi) was the first to take the lead after setting the best time in the opening stage on Friday night. Already in the mountain, Gabriel Pozzo (VW) clinched two stage victories in a row to command the rally; however on SS4 the former PWCR Champion cut to early a corner causing his Gol Trend Maxi Rally to roll over.

Automatically Villagra inherited the first position. Until that moment, "Coyote" hadn't been able to match Pozzo's pace but was clever enough to keep himself steady behind the leader. Unfortunately, not for a long time, Villagra collected a puncture on SS6 and dropped to sixth place 41,6 seconds adrift Miguel Baldoni (VW), the new rally's commander.

The WRC Academy driver held the lead until the last Saturday' stage, when his Gol Trend suffered a transmission failure that forced him to abandon the race. Behind Baldoni, Marcos Ligato (Chevrolet) was virtually the new leader; nevertheless and incredibly, the Tango driver broke a ball joint of his Agile Maxi Rally exactly in the same place where Baldoni got into trouble. The new leader was the Paraguayan Diego Domínguez (Kia), who claimed the leg's victory. Villagra also took advantage of his rival's retirements and climbed to second position.

The second day of action had only three stages scheduled, but there was more drama to come. Two of the stages were over 25 kilometres and the remaining one was the second pass through the Super Special.

Domínguez found himself in trouble opening and sweeping the road. The Team Baratec driver lost 13 seconds against Villagra, who reduced the gap to 8,9s. "Coyote" was feeling really confident with his speed, and the pressure he put on the leader of the race finally worked. On the penultimate stage Domínguez went off the road, and the VRS driver cruised on the Super Special to claim the victory.


Rally de Catamarca - Final classification

1º) F. Villagra-D. Curletto (Ford) 1h31m21,5s.
2º) J. Marchetto-J. Díaz (Mitsubishi) + 39,5s.
3º) Gil De Marchi-M. Albornoz (Chevrolet) + 1m44,2s.
4º) I. Martin-M. Mercadal (Subaru) + 2m41,1s.
5º) A. Elvira-O. Tagle (Mitsubishi) + 3m28,7s.
6º) J. Cantón-R. Ortiz (Mitsubishi) + 3m30,9s.
7º) G. Padilla-R. Kember (Ford) + 3m47,5s.
8º) S. Abramian-L. Suaya (VW) + 3m55,7s.
9º) J. Alonso-P. Monasterolo (Subaru) + 4m17,5s.
10º) M. Bainotti-M. Der-Ohannesian (Mits) + 9m52,5s.

Championship: 1º Marchetto 102 - 2º Villagra 93 - 3º Menzi 71,5 - 4º Pozzo 56,5 - 5º Gil De Marchi 54,5 - 6º Baldoni 53 - 7º Canton 50.

[OldF]

for the moment, there is no accurate information of what is the price of a MaxiRally, it could indicate that it is similar to the price of any PWRC... The gearbox is Subaru.

Thanks CABAIO E'LONA

By Solberg it’s an Italian gearbox??


Yes, our championship is getting better =)
it seems that nicolas madero (second overall in 2009) will return and a few more drivers with MR...
the things that you know about MR are correct, they have the same egine, Honda 2,4 290 hp prepared by Berta, 4WD from Subaru, and an italian sequential gearbox with 6 gears
all of these are the same for all of the MR, the rest is free
I hope this information is useful, sory for my english :P

[CABAIO E'LONA]

5 round of CAR 2011...


Muddy conditions couldn’t stop Villagra
http://rallyargentino.org.ar/foto_noti/Federico_Villagra_Ford.jpg

Federico Villaga (Ford) clinched his third success in a row within the Argentine Rally Championship after claiming the win in the Rally de la Yerba Mate, fifth round of the national series held in Apóstoles.
For most of the drivers this was their first encounter with the red roads of Misiones, since the last time the Northern Province hosted a round was back in 2000. And the experience didn't turn out to be as pleasant as they though it would be.

The heavy rains that struck the region during the whole weekend made the roads almost impassable, and the slippery conditions contributed to a great numbers of spins and accidents during the race.

In the case of Villagra, he came up with a faultless and intelligent driving which enabled him cruise on Saturday to claim a one-minute lead over Gabriel Pozzo (VW) after the first leg of competition.

"It felt like soap on the surface. You could barely remain standing. However, we were clever enough to find the right pace to be fast but not furious" stated "Coyote" on the Service Park.

On Sunday the scenery was even worst, up to a point the organisers were forced to cancel the second run through the first two stages and left for the end of the rally the Super Special Stage.

But the final chapter of this chaotic story was as dramatic as the previous ones, since Villagra had to run the 3.14-kilometre circuit with a problem in the Fiesta's engine intake manifold which cost him more than 30 seconds, and almost the victory.

This triumph enables Villagra climb to first position in the standings with a 37-point lead over his team-mate Juan Marhcetto, who dismissed this round as the current regulations state. Pozzo now have 95.5 points.

Clasificación



1º) F. Villagra - D. Curletto (Ford)
2º) G. Pozzo - D. Stillo (Volkswagen)
3º) A. Cancio - S. García (Peugeot)
4º) R. Martínez - F. Mussano (Volkswagen)
5º) I. Martin - M. Mercadal (Fiat)
6º) N. Díaz - G. Piazzano (Mitsubishi)
7º) F. Bassi - R. Rinaudo (Mitsubishi)
8º) O. Kovacevich - J. Kovacevich (Mitsubishi)