Mike Chen picks his top five drivers on Rally Argentina 30.04.2017: After Thierry Neuville’s nail-biting last-minute win Final highlights show this Sunday 30 April at 22:00 local

After Thierry Neuville’s nail-biting last-minute win



Final highlights show this Sunday 30 April at 22:00 local time (03:00 CEST). All other Rally Argentina programmes now available as VOD.


Watch Red Bull TV on all your devices, wherever you’re connected



Rally Argentina had it all: more twists than The Da Vinci Code, gravel roads rougher than the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and a spectacular finish tenser than a violin bow, with Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville winning by less than a second from Ford privateer Elfyn Evans on the final stage. Red Bull TV was there to cover it all, fronted as always by presenter Mike Chen.
 


Mike has been around a bit when it comes to the World Rally Championship: in fact, he’s even given rally driving a go himself. So he knows a good WRC driver when he sees one – although apparently, he’s not about to give up his day job quite yet. Here are Mike’s top five drivers on Rally Argentina: the toughest and most unpredictable event of the year so far.
 


1. Elfyn Evans. “The young Welshman showed incredible pace throughout the rally and demonstrated exceptional maturity considering the pressure he was under. His career has had so many ups and downs, but this was his best performance yet and definitely the start of something special.



 He’s a fantastic guy, so absolutely everyone in the service park was delighted to see him perform so strongly. There were no special gifts here: he fought for every second with genuine pace on Rally Argentina. He may have just missed out on a first victory, but expect to see much more from him in future.”


 
 

2. Thierry Neuville. “After a disappointing start to the year, when he crashed out of the lead twice in Monte-Carlo and Sweden, it’s all starting to come good for Thierry. He lost a lot of time with a puncture on Friday but absolutely refused to let that get him down and just kept pushing all the way to the finish.



The way that he reeled in Elfyn at the end of the rally to win was so impressive, setting up a spectacular finish, and there’s no doubt that Thierry is now one of the favourites – perhaps even the favourite – for this year’s title.”


 
 

3. Ott Tanak. “It’s not often that you see four-time champion Sebastien Ogier get out-paced in a straight fight, in the same car, but that’s exactly what the young Estonian did: beating the one driver who everyone measures themselves against.



 Ott had a scintillating Saturday and carried that pace through to Sunday as well, claiming yet another podium to demonstrate that he’s got the consistency to match his obvious speed. He was really clever this weekend, and that cleverness has paid off.”


 
 

4. Jari-Matti Latvala. “So, his Toyota is brand new this year and still needs work, but maybe Jari-Matti hasn’t noticed! He was absolutely flying on the first day, getting every ounce of performance out of the Yaris WRC, until he hit a puncture and an engine problem that dropped him down the order.



Had he not experienced those problems, I’m sure he would have been fighting for the top three. Again. Which isn't what you expect from a new entry. What Toyota and Jari-Matti have done so far this year is amazing.”


 
 

5. Kris Meeke. “This may sound like a strange choice after he had two massive accidents, but hear me out. With the crash on day one and the amount of damage to the car, it was a testament to the team and to Kris to get back out on day two and immediately take two stage wins.



It’s not about how you get knocked down, but about how quickly you get back up again. Although he then had what was probably the biggest shunt of his career on stage 14, I’m sure Kris will get back in the car in Portugal with the same attitude: flat out 100% of the time. That’s what makes him so spectacular to watch; you can tell that Colin McRae played a massive part in his career!”


 

Catch all the highlights of Rally Argentina on Red Bull TV tonight at 22:00 (local Argentina time) to see why Mike has made his choices.




And if you’re not in South America and don’t feel like waking up in the middle of the night, all the programmes from Rally Argentina are also available on demand, meaning you can catch up with the WRC action whenever suits you. Hasta la vista!




Vera Dussausaye, photos Red Bull