Blue Oval star Petter Solberg was leading the gruelling event by 20 seconds when he hit a rock in his Fiesta RS.
The impact damaged the car’s steering – and his chance of a win was gone. He finally finished a dejected sixth.
Solberg’s blunder let eight-time world rally champ Loeb through for his seventh straight win in Argentina, extending his lead in this year’s standings.
Citroen team-mate Mikko Hirvonen followed him home after thrilling rally fans with a string of high-speed jumps that saw his DS3 assume some barely possible angles.
Hirvonen said: “It has been a good rally. The stages are so fantastic here.”
Ford were put on the back foot before the event even started when... read more