Jari-Matti Latvala maintains slender Rally Argentina WRC lead

Latvala was able to overcome a three-way battle for the rally lead, winning the two final proper stages to come out on top ahead of Hayden Paddon and Ogier.

Fastest time on the superspecial that closed the evening provided Ogier with a 3.5s margin over Paddon after the two had traded places throughout the afternoon loop.

Behind their battle, Andreas Mikkelsen finished third best of the VWs in fourth.

Mikkelsen had to stay on his toes as Hyundai's Dani Sordo remained close throughout in fifth.

Mads Ostberg was sixth, continuing his safety first policy to great effect. While never challenging for stage wins, he was able to take advantage of Argentina's attrition.

In seventh, Henning Solberg continued to keep Eric Camilli at bay, as the M-Sport driver struggled to keep pace throughout Friday's running.

Local hero Marcos Ligato has had a strong start to his WRC return, consistently running in the top 10 in the only PH Sport Citroen present and holding ninth ahead of Thierry Neuville.

Neuville had a terrible start to the rally as he lost time due to an electrical issue and his own admission of a lack of confidence.

The Belgian steadily improved on the afternoon loop to settle into 10th.

The re-run of the morning's loop claimed Lorenzo Bertelli, who retired with power issues late in the day, echoing the problems of Ott Tanak who failed to make the afternoon's running due to alternator problems.

Follow day two of Rally Argentina as it happens with Autosport Race Centre Live from 12.30pm UK time on Saturday.

LEADING POSITIONS AFTER SS9