Intro:

Eight-time defending champion Sebastien Loeb bounced back from a couple of spins to take a narrow lead over Citroen team-mate Mikko Hirvonen after Friday's first full day of the Rally Argentina.

Script:

Sebastien Loeb's hopes of clinching a seventh Rally Argentina win in eight years suffered a blow on Friday as, after winning stage two, he spun twice on stage three.

However, the Frenchman battled back to win the next two stages and finished second on the sixth to move to the top of the timesheets and end the day with a slender lead.

Loeb, who leads the overall standings four rounds into the season, finished just one-tenth-of-a-second ahead of fellow Citroen driver Mikko Hirvonen.

Finland's Hirvonen finished in the top three in all five of Friday's special stages, winning the sixth to close to within touching distance of team-mate and rival Loeb.

A further 33 seconds off the pace sits Dani Sordo in third place.

Former world champion Petter Solberg started the day on top of the timesheets having taken first place in the opening super special stage.

The Norwegian claimed second place on stage two and then took advantage of Loeb's troubles to win stage three and hold onto the overall lead.

However, Solberg crashed on stage four and broke a steering arm on his Ford Fiesta.

He limped home in 27th place on the stage and dropped out of contention for podium honours, eventually finishing the day more than 14 minutes off the pace in 11th place.