He wasn't the only one. Ford engineers are probably chewing out the team's suspension supplier right now after similar traumas halted Henning Solberg of the Stobart team, local boy Luis Pérez Companc in the Munchi's Focus and, guttingly, Stobart's Matthew Wilson, who was running a fine sixth with just six stages to go.

With Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala suffering disaster after disaster, including a half-roll on stage two, it was up to the Subaru Impreza pair to kept Loeb honest. A gripping battle between Atkinson and teammate Petter Solberg saw the Norwegian gain the upper hand right up until the second-to-last stage, when the unluckiest man in rallying was sidelined with an electrical fault.

To the delight of the vast crowd up here in the rain-soaked Cordoba hills, most of the retirees were allowed back under SupeRally rules – meaning they could race again but with heavy time penalties. Hirvonen was docked 25 minutes, but such was the attrition rate he still managed to finish fifth and in the points. That leaves him just five points shy of Loeb at the top of the drivers' leader board, with Atkinson third. Ford clings onto its manufacturers' title by a skinny three-point margin from Citroen.

Surprise points finishers include the African rally champion Conrad Rautenbach – the Zimbabwean driver finishing a career-best fourth in his privateer Citroen C4 – and Argentinean champion Federico Villagra, who was sixth in his Munchi's Focus despite problems. Even the P-WRC (production class) winner scalped a WRC point by finishing eighth, the best-ever finish for Austrian Andreas Aigner in his Red Bull sponsored Mitsubishi Evo IX. Local driver Sebastian Beltran was second in P-WRC and rookie Jari Ketomaa was third, enough to elevate the Finn to the top of the leaderboard.

Nobody had a good word to say about the treacherous conditions. "Completely crazy" said Loeb. "Most difficult I have ever seen," according to Stobart's Gigi Galli. "Bloody slippery" said Petter Solberg. According to Ford boss Malcolm Wilson it was "the worst [rally] for the team since the China Rally in 1999." Back then its two drivers, including Colin McRae, retired after both hitting the same rock.

Rally Argentina Final positions

1. S Loeb, Citroen C4 4hr 05min 48.6sec
2. C Atkinson, Subaru Impreza 4hr 08min 21.8sec
3. D Sordo, Citroen C4 4hr 09min 53.3sec
4. C Rautenbach , Citroen C4 4hr 25min 52.1sec
5. M Hirvonen, Ford Focus RS 4hr 31min 03.9sec
6. F Villagra, Ford Focus RS 4hr 33min 30.6sec
7. G Galli, Ford Focus RS 4hr 33min 40.4sec
8. A Aigner, Mitsubishi Lancer 4hr 34min 47.9sec
9. S Beltran, Mitsubishi Lancer 4hr 35min 53.5sec
10. J Ketomaa, Subaru Impreza 4hr 37min 41.2sec