WRC Stages: Rally Argentina

As part of our endeavour to bring to you the entire rally calendar, we move to the land of the Pampas for Round 4 of the World Rally Championships - Argentina.

The Rally Argentina is part of the Argentine Rally Competition as well as a stage of the World Rally Championship. The only South American event on the WRC calendar, it’s held in the Calamuchita area near Villa Carlos Paz in the Cordoba Province. The narrow slope roads in this region are best known for their water-splashes.

Along with the World Rally Championship and the Argentine Rally Competition, it also has a parallel junior competition that forms part of the Junior World Rally Championship.

The rally was first organized in 1980, in the Tucuman Province. The Automovil Club Argentino was behind getting it organized for the World Rally Championships. The winners of the first edition of the Rally Argentina, were Walter Rohrl and Christian Geistdorfer. They drove a Fiat 131 Abarth on their way to victory on a brand new track. In the 1981 season, the rally took place in the Tucuman province again but in 1982, it got canceled. The rally then moved to San Carlos de Bariloche. What seemed like a permanent home again shifted in 1984, this time to the Córdoba Province. So far, this has been the location of the rally ever since 1984.

The rally was placed 5th on the World Rally Championship Calendar in the 2006 season. It was held on April 28, 2006 through April 30, 2006 on the World Rally Championship schedule. In order to attract more spectators, a part of the race in 2007 was modified. One of the sections of the rally was run in Buenos Aires and in the River Plate Football Stadium. Another section of the rally passed through the Chateau Carreras Stadium in Cordoba city. This enabled fans to watch the race cars pass through the major cities and got more attention.