Unlike the previous 4 events this season, when Loeb's dominance was not to be challenged, the South American rally saw the Frenchman losing time to competition in the first day of the event. After topping the Thursday superspecial, Loeb had to stay back and watch Citroen's and Ford's lieutenants – Dani Sordo and Jari-Matti Latvala respectively – battle for the lead.
Losing as much as 16 second to teammate Sordo on Friday, Loen upped his game in the following day and started building a comfortable lead by the end of the day. Behind him, Sordo drove cautiously to secure a 1-2 for Citroen, while the other drivers began fighting with mechanical problems.
Mikko Hirvonen had to call it a day following an engine problem, while teammate Latvala suffered a puncture on Saturday followed by an electrical problem with his Ford Focus on Sunday morning that eventually dropped him to 6th overall. Petter Solberg was also troubled by several problems throughout the Argentine weekend, as he had to fight two punctures on Saturday.
The Norwegian did manage, however, to get into 3rd place by mid-Sunday, when a lack of fuel pressure on his Citroen Xsara ended his hopes of clinching his second podium this season. The 3rd place overall stayed in the family, however, as brother Henning Solberg went on to securing his first podium in 2 years.
Fourth overall was local favorite Federico Villagra, who finished the rally ahead of Stobart's Matthew Wilson. Sebastien Ogier and Nasser Al-Attiyah went on to take 7th and 8th place respectively.
In the overall standings, Loeb is now 19 points clear of teammate Sordo, with Hirvonen dropping to 3rd place, one point behind the Spaniard.
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