Argentina, May 09: World champion Marcus Gronholm took the early lead in the Rally of Argentina after the opening two sprint stages on Thursday. The Finn led the Subaru of Norwegian Petter Solberg by 2.3 seconds ahead of the start of real competitive action on Friday.
Gronholm, who was disqualified in Argentina last year along with British team mate Richard Burns, was fastest through the first run on the outskirts of Villa Carlos Paz and third quickest on the second.
Spain's former champion Carlos Sainz, winner last year after Gronholm and Burns were ruled out, was in third place for Citroen. Burns was in fourth place after setting the best time on the second run.
Estonia's Markko Martin, in the new Ford Focus, made a mistake at the start of his second run and lost nearly seven seconds. He was seventh overall.
Skoda's Toni Gardemeister, who finished fifth last year, was hit with a one-minute penalty before the rally had started after the Finn swapped cars following the pre-event reconnaissance.



The rally continues on Friday with 11 stages.


Bureau Report