The 20-kilometre run from Villa Bustos-Tanti returns on Friday April 24. While this isn’t a new Rally Argentina stage, it’s unlikely any of the crews competing on the fourth round of this year’s world championship will have been down it before.
The World Rally Championship’s sole seasonal visit to South America is likely to turn on four monster stages: two runs at the Agua do Oro-Ascochinga (52km) test – which has been reversed from last season – and two more shots at the San Marcos-Characato stage. Measuring 56 kilometres, the latter is definitely an early contender for the longest stage of the season.
The classic road from Gulio Cesare-Mina Clavero has been canned from the final day, with the last leg now comprising just two runs at El Condor.
The total competitive distance for this year’s event is 342, 63 kilometres down on last May’s modern-day marathon.
Volkswagen’s Jari-Matti Latvala won last year’s event in changeable conditions. Running slightly earlier in the calendar – in the Southern Hemisphere’s late autumn rather than early winter – lessens the chances of heavy rain this time around.