In the fourth stage of the “Desafío Ruta 40” in Argentina, Rokas Baciuška with co-driver Oriol Vidal finished second in the “Stock” class and holds second place overall before the last day of the rally.
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After a changeable day, the Lithuanian is 8 minutes 17 seconds behind the leader Stéphane Peterhansel, and tomorrow the athletes face the final 320 km special stage.
The day started fast for Baciuška – after the first 45 kilometers he had taken the lead, although the advantage over Peterhansel was only 9 seconds. However, from the 77 km mark, the Frenchman took over the lead and began to gradually increase the gap. By 140 km he had built a 1 minute 49 second lead, but later Baciuška managed to close in – at 173 km the difference was reduced to 31 seconds, and at 210 km the Lithuanian was only 7 seconds behind the leader.
Still, in the last part of the stage, Peterhansel managed to increase the pace again and finished 4 minutes 16 seconds ahead of Baciuška.
Third to finish was teammate Sara Price, but her result does not reflect the true battle on the track. The American lightly rolled onto her side at the very beginning of the special stage and lost a lot of time. Baciuška decided to stop and help his teammate, helping to flip the car back, making sure the situation was under control and the crew could continue the race. After this incident, Price lost about half an hour and could no longer compete for higher positions.
After the finish, Baciuška admitted that the day was not easy not only because of the track but also due to how he felt. “Last night I felt unwell, so the morning was not the best. But once you are at the start, you don’t think much about it – you drive and do your job. The pace was good at the beginning, I managed to stay close to Stephane, at one point we were practically side by side, but later he pulled away a bit. Of course, I wanted more, but we are at the finish, the car is intact, and we still have one day left,” said the Lithuanian.
In the overall “Stock” class standings after four stages, Peterhansel leads with a total time of 15 hours 24 minutes 08 seconds. Baciuška is second with a time of 15 hours 32 minutes 25 seconds. Although the gap before the last day is not small, the athlete himself is in no hurry to draw conclusions.
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“8 minutes is not little, especially when there is only one day left. But this is rally-raid – anything can happen until the very last kilometer. Tomorrow we face another 320 km for speed, so we will try to drive at our own pace and see what we can do,” said R. Baciuška.
The fourth stage was changeable in the overall car classification as well. Carlos Sainz won his first victory with Ford, beating Eryk Goczała by 30 seconds. Even more intrigue was caused by changes in the overall standings – Seth Quintero became the fourth different “Desafío Ruta 40” leader in four race days. The American has only a 7-second lead over Nasser Al-Attiyah before the final, and third-placed Henk Lategan is 1 minute 53 seconds behind.
This situation once again shows how unpredictable this year’s Argentina rally is. Leaders change daily, and mistakes, technical issues, or even a few minutes lost here can fundamentally change the entire ranking.
On Friday, athletes face the final “Desafío Ruta 40” stage in the San Juan area. Organizers promise a 320 km special stage consisting entirely of gravel. The route will start near the impressive Cuesta del Viento region, then stretch along highland roads, cross small streams, and end in the classic open desert terrain of San Juan with dry riverbeds and fast, tricky sections.
The battle in the “Stock” class is not over yet – the last day in Argentina will decide who takes the victory from the third round of the world rally-raid championship.
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