Thierry Neuville (Hyundai i20) leads in dramatic Rally Argentina finale.

Thierry Neuville seized a last-gasp lead in Friday’s captivating opening leg of Xion Rally Argentina.

The FIA World Rally Championship leader snatched the initiative from Ott Tänak when a broken driveshaft on the Estonian’s Toyota Yaris sent him into a time-consuming spin near the finish of the final speed test.

Tanak’s lead was wiped out and fastest time for Neuville promoted the Hyundai i20 driver into a 11.9 sec advantage over Sébastien Ogier’s Citroën C3. Tänak was a further 1.5 sec behind in third.

Persistent rain over the previous 48 hours meant the Calamuchita Valley tests were treacherous. Standing water and huge mud patches provided inconsistent grip and Neuville was shocked to top the leaderboard after languishing in ninth this morning.

“Consistency paid off. I felt I had a good drive in the opening stage and was really surprised when I saw others were faster. Things improved and I drove a good last stage when the road was very rough. We only have a small advantage so nothing is done yet,” he said.

Tänak started the last stage aware of the mechanical problem but limited his time loss until spinning 2km from the finish. Having lost his overnight lead, he had regained top spot in the afternoon, despite regularly losing his brakes in the many water splashes.

Ogier felt his C3 lacked performance and the Frenchman was fortunate to survive a one-wheel landing after clipping a bank on the inside of a tight bend.

Kris Meeke was fourth, 28.1 sec off the front, and the third leader of the day. The Yaris driver led for three of the six tests (one was cancelled for safety reasons due to the weather) but could not maintain his pace on rougher afternoon roads. Losing third gear further hampered his efforts.

Andreas Mikkelsen was 1.3 sec behind in fifth, despite a morning puncture in his Hyundai i20, with Elfyn Evans rounding off the top six in spite of balance issues in his Ford Fiesta.

Saturday’s leg is the longest of the rally. Competitors head into the vast pampas plains and hills of the Punilla Valley for two identical blocks of three stages. The loops are split by a repeat of Friday’s theme park test in host town Carlos Paz. It adds up to 146.62km of action.

Leading positions after Friday:

1. T Neuville / N Gilsoul BEL Hyundai i20 +1hr 11min 13.9sec
2. S Ogier / J Ingrassia FRA Citroën C3 +11.9sec
3. O Tänak / M Järveoja EST Toyota Yaris +13.4sec
4. K Meeke / S Marshall GBR Toyota Yaris +28.1sec
5. A Mikkelsen / A Jaeger-Amland NOR Hyundai i20 +29.4sec
6. E Evans / S Martin GBR Ford Fiesta +38.2sec

Credits : Photos and content courtesy of Red Bull Media