The Citroën Junior Team aims to conquer Sapporo

The Citroën Junior Team will take the start of the Rally Japan – round 10 of the 2010 FIA World Rally Championship – with two C4 WRCs that will be driven by Dani Sordo/Diego Vallejo and Kimi Räikkönen/Kaj Lindström

The Rally Japan gets underway on Thursday 9 September with a superspecial in Sapporo. On Friday 10 September and Saturday 11 September the route will take the crews towards the towns of Tomakomai, Chitose and Eniwa in the south of the island of Hokkaido. The final day, Sunday 12 September, visits the area around Sunagawa, Bibai and Naie, to the northeast of the service park close to Sapporo.

Dani Sordo has taken part in the Rally Japan on three previous occasions, with a best result of second overall in 2007. The Spaniard just missed out on victory by 37.4 seconds on that occasion, having been the best performer of the rally after setting the same number of fastest stage times as Sebastien Loeb.

“I’ve got some great memories of Japan,” said Dani. “It’s a long way away but a very beautiful country. The route is really complex though. As a driver you have to be very precise in order to place the car accurately on very narrow roads and the co-driver has a lot of pace notes to get through, which need to be read out with perfect timing. If all those things don’t come together you end up either losing a stack of time or going off the road. From start to finish, you need to be really exact.”

Dani Sordo is joining the Citroën Junior Team for the last few gravel rounds of the 2010 season, and he is determined to get stuck into the battle with the frontrunners. “I’m going to be giving my all to show that I can drive just as quickly on gravel as I can on asphalt,” added the Spaniard.

Kimi Räikkönen has been used to making the trip to Japan throughout his Formula One career, winning the Japanese Grand Prix in 2005, but the gravel stages on the island of Hokkaido are going to be all new to him.

Kimi finished in the points on his last outing, the all-asphalt Rallye Deutschland, and also set the first fastest stage time of his short WRC career to date. He said: “We’ve not been testing since we finished the Rallye Deutschland. When we get to Japan, I’m going to have to get straight back into the rhythm again. I’m expecting it to be a very tricky event for us. From what I’ve heard, the Rally Japan is particularly complex. And it’s sure to be even more complicated for a beginner like me.”

The Finn has been in the points on four occasions from the eight starts he has taken this year, but his objectives remain unchanged. “My targets are exactly the same,” he confirmed. “From the first few stages in Japan we will be able to see the pace we can run at. But once more the main thing will be to be there at the end of the rally.”

After nine of the 13 events that make up this year’s World Rally Championship, Dani Sordo is fifth in the drivers’ standings while Kimi Räikkönen is 10th. In the manufacturers’ rankings, the Citroën Junior Team lies third with 168 points.

- Credit: Citroen Junior Team.

Source: HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS

Rallye Deutschland 2010: Overnight leader Loeb vows tokeep pushing

Sebastien Loeb will take a 9.5-second lead into day two of Rallye Deutschland although the reigning world champion admits the gap might not be enough to keep Citroen team-mate Dani Sordo at bay

The Spaniard has been a consistent threat to Loeb through Friday’s six stages and went faster than the Frenchman on the final stage of the day, the repeat of the 19.92-kilometre Moselland test.

“It’s been a good day for sure but it’s not been easy and I have been really pushing because first Petter was fast and then it was Dani,” said Loeb. “I have to continue this way tomorrow if I am to win.”

Sordo, back in the main Citroen team after contesting Rally Finland with the company’s Junior squad, said he had been full of confidence throughout the day. “My times have been consistent and it’s nice to be close to Sebastien,” said Sordo. “But the most important thing is to take as many points as possible for the manufacturers’ championship.”

Jari-Matti Latvala is the leading works Ford driver in third overall and was satisfied with the progress made since the last asphalt round in Bulgaria back in early July.

“I’ve made progress since Bulgaria and that is important,” said the Rally Finland winner. “I’ve not made any major errors but the small ones have cost some time.”

With the anti-stall problem that slowed him this morning resolved, Sebastien Ogier was able to climb ahead of Mikko Hirvonen for fourth after going faster than the Finn on stage five. Ogier said he was satisfied with his performance but Hirvonen admitted that he needs to find more speed on day two in the second factory Ford.

Francois Duval completes the top six on his return to the WRC for the first time since 2008. The Belgian could have been higher up the leaderboard but for a broken front-right driveshaft five kilometres from the finish of stage two, which left his Focus on rear-wheel drive only.

“It’s good that this is a long rally as it can hopefully allow me to catch up on the others after a bad start,” said Duval, who lost almost a minute on Friday morning.

Matthew Wilson is seventh, 4.7s behind Duval, after overcoming understeer and brake problems earlier in the day.

Ex-Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen is eighth in his Citroen Junior Team C4 with Petter Solberg ninth after a fraught day. The Norwegian suffered a deflated tyre on the opening stage and in his efforts to make up the lost time he carried too much speed into a left-hander on stage six and broke his right-rear wheel rim against a kerb, which prompted a second wheel change.

“It’s been an up and down day,” said Solberg. “The car has been very good and we showed our speed by going fastest on stage five. Unfortunately we overshot a junction on stage five and then had the problem with the wheel on stage six.”

Ken Block completes the top 10 in his Monster World Rally Team Focus on only his third asphalt rally and his first at world championship level.

Overall:
1. 1 S. LOEB M 1:18:52.5 0.0 0.0
2. 2 D. SORDO M 1:19:02.0 +9.5 +9.5
3. 4 J. LATVALA M 1:19:57.2 +55.2 +1:04.7
4. 7 S. OGIER M 1:20:03.4 +6.2 +1:10.9
5. 3 M. HIRVONEN M 1:20:07.0 +3.6 +1:14.5
6. 6 F. DUVAL M 1:22:02.9 +1:55.9 +3:10.4
7. 5 M. WILSON M 1:22:07.6 +4.7 +3:15.1
8. 8 K. RÄIKKÖNEN M 1:22:15.3 +7.7 +3:22.8
9. 11 P. SOLBERG 1:23:40.2 +1:24.9 +4:47.7
10. 43 K. BLOCK 1:24:34.8 +54.6 +5:42.3

Source: WRC

Citroëns dominate Rally Deutschland Shakedown

Citroen’s bid for an eighth victory on Rally Deutschland got off to a strong start earlier today when C4 World Rally Cars locked out the top four times at the pre-event shakedown

The four hour test - a prelude to this weekend's rally - took place on a 5.80km asphalt road near the villages of Mesenich and Grewenich, 16km west of the Service Park in Trier. Conditions were dry and sunny throughout, with the temperature peaking at 23 degrees Celsius.

Citroen works team driver Dani Sordo shared the joint fastest time with privateer entrant Petter Solberg. Sordo, competing alongside new co-driver Diego Vallejo for the first time, completed four passes through the stage, setting his best time of 3m 39.4s on his final run.

“It felt good,” said Sordo. “Of course it’s a big change having Diego alongside me but we’ve tested for three days [in the rally car] and since then we have been driving together in a road car in Spain. It’s not the same as proper competition but this morning everything is okay. The aim for the rally is to try and get a podium. But running sixth on the road isn’t an ideal position to be in because there will be a lot of dirt on the road. If the weather stays dry that will help.”

Solberg, who started a new co-driving partnership with Chris Patterson six weeks ago, matched Sordo’s time on his fourth run. The Norwegian drove the stage five times after hitting a snag on his first pass. “The handbrake didn’t release after a hairpin and we were stationary for about 15 seconds,” he explained. “Luckily it happened today and we were able to fix it. After that we tried a few different settings, confirming what we found at our pre-event test. In the end the car feels absolutely perfect and we matched Sordo’s time. I’m happy with that.”

Seven-time Rally Deutschland winner Sebastien Loeb was the closest to Sordo and Solberg, in a time 1.3sec adrift. “The test has been okay for me, no problems,” he said. The road was fast and narrow, so always difficult, but the feeling was good and the car is perfect for the moment. We made a little change to the suspension but nothing special.”

Citroen Junior Team driver Kimi Raikkonen set the fourth fastest time, 1.9sec slower than Loeb, while Ford team-leader Mikko Hirvonen rounded off the top five as the first Focus RS WRC pilot.

ADAC Rally Deutschland gets underway on Friday 19 August at 0900hrs when crews leave the Service Park bound for the opening Ruwertal / Fell stage.

Here are the Shakedown times of the leading WRC drivers:

1. SORDO. Citroen C4 WRC. 3:39.4

=1. P. SOLBERG. Citroen C4 WRC. 3:39.4

3. LOEB. Citroen C4 WRC. 3:40.7

4. RÄIKKÖNEN. Citroen C4 WRC. 3:42.6

5. HIRVONEN. Ford Focus RS WRC 09. 3:42.7

6. DUVAL. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 3:42.8

7. OGIER. Citroen C4 WRC. 3:43.3

8. LATVALA. Ford Focus RS WRC 09. 3:44.4

9. WILSON. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 3:48.3

10. Al QASSIMI. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 3:51.4

11. BLOCK. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 3:52.2

Source: WRC

Sebastien Loeb wins Rally Bulgaria!

Citroen C4 WRC driver Sebastien Loeb sealed victory on Rally Bulgaria today, round seven of the 2010 World Rally Championship, to extend his lead in the FIA Drivers' standings and head a record breaking formation finish for the French manufacturer.

Loeb, the defending and six-time World Champion, led the rally from beginning to end and finished 29.5sec ahead of his team-mate Dani Sordo who was second in another C4 WRC.

After a tense final day battle for second, Citroen privateer Petter Solberg had to settle for third, 6.8sec behind Sordo. Sebastien Ogier brought his C4 WRC home in fourth place to complete a 1-2-3-4 for Citroen - the best world championship finish for a manufacturer since Toyota scored a similar result on the 1993 Safari Rally.

Today's win was the 58th at World Championship level for Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena and gives him a total of 151 points in the drivers' championship. Sebastien Ogier is second in the series on a total of 100, while Ford team-leader Mikko Hirvonen is third with 86.

Overall:
Source: WRC

Citroen trio quickest in Jordan Shakedown

Defending World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb was the fastest driver at the pre-event shakedown for the Jordan Rally earlier today, with fellow C4 World Rally Car drivers Petter Solberg and Dani Sordo locking out the top three times.

The four-hour test took place on a 2.3km stage, located 7.5km north of the Dead Sea Service Park. Weather conditions were dry and sunny throughout with a temperature peaking at 30 degrees Celsius.

Loeb drove the stage five times, setting his best time on the third pass, and matching it on the fourth. "Everything went okay, but the road wasn't very representative of the ones we saw on the recce," Loeb told wrc.com. "Today's road was fast and there was a lot of grip, while the proper stages are much more twisty and slippery. All we did today was check that everything was okay with the car.

" Loeb's team-mate Dani Sordo and Citroen privateer Petter Solberg set the same second-fastest time, one-tenth slower than Loeb. "We tried a lot of different things during the session because I haven't done any testing before the rally," said Petter. "I expect conditions will be much looser on the rally but the main thing is that we're up there with the best, and one tenth from Seb is nothing, you know?"

BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Mikko Hirvonen were fourth and fifth fastest.

After a ceremonial start in the historic city of Jerash on Thursday morning, the opening stage of the rally, the 15.34km Rumman Forest, gets underway on 1128hrs. Follow this link to find out how to follow the rally LIVE and FREE here on wrc.com.

Here are the Shakedown times of the WRC drivers:

1. LOEB. Citroen C4 WRC. 1:13.4
=2. SORDO. Citroen C4 WRC. 1:13.5
=2. P. SOLBERG. Citroen C4 WRC. 1:13.5
4. LATVALA. Ford Focus RS WRC 09. 1:13.7
5. HIRVONEN. Ford Focus RS WRC 09. 1:13.8
6. OGIER. Citroen C4 WRC. 1:13.9
7. VILLAGRA. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 1:15.1
8. WILSON. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 1:15.2
9. H.SOLBERG. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 1:15.3
10. RAIKKONEN. Citroen C4 WRC. 1:16.2

Source: WRC
Courtesy: _TaniaS_

Kimi Raikkonen: 'In Formula One too many unpleasant things are going on'

Disillusioned with the murky politics of F1, Kimi Raikkonen has turned to rallying to refuel his love of driving. Robin Scott-Elliot reports

Paris, not quite in the springtime but a place for new beginnings nonetheless. Kimi Raikkonen could have been in Valencia last week, exchanging gunslinger glances with Michael Schumacher. Instead the former Formula One world champion is preparing for his sabbatical as a much-needed, glitzy adornment to a revamped World Rally Championship that is thirsty for the limelight.

The Finn, new Citroë*team-mates and new adversaries met in the French capital to launch a season that opens in the snow of Sweden on Thursday. First, an appropriately chilly photocall in the Place de la Concorde; a miserable drizzle that makes the golden tip of Cleopatra's Needle shine brighter still, well-practised Parisian indifference, even from the couple of attending gendarmes, and a handful of Japanese tourists taking pictures just in case. The drivers shrug off their warm coats, pose in team colours holding boards to promote road safety and try not to shiver. Formula One it is not.

Along one side of the Place, looking down towards the Eiffel Tower, stands the Automobile Club de France, the refined headquarters of the FIA, motor sport's governing body. It promises a welcome respite from the cold. The talking begins upstairs on the first floor in a large, book-lined room that on closer inspection reveals an oddly eclectic collection; Proust and Dan Brown, Ken Follett and Umberto Eco, biographies of Pol Pot and Nelson, and a history of the Waffen SS.

Max Mosley cleared out his desk just three months ago and in his place as world motor racing's overlord is Jean Todt, a diminutive Frenchman who happens to be a one-time rally driver. There is reason to cheer for the WRC, which has had some lean times of late.

"Rallying is strongly implemented in my heart," states Todt. "It's among my priorities. There are lots of things that have to be improved and it is our commitment to make sure they are improved."

This year sees a refreshed championship of 13 rounds, with new venues in Istanbul, Auckland and France before its hectic autumn finale tearing across Wales. And new drivers. The colourful Californian Ken Block is a former snowboarder and US rally competitor, as well as being a successful businessman who has made a fortune through sports shoes. Then there is Raikkonen, the cool, reserved Finn, the Iceman, and the centre of attention in Paris, more so than Sébastian Loeb, the six-times world champion and ultimate rallier. The two pose together and the cameramen jostle to capture the moment.

"It is the biggest challenge in my racing career," says Raikkonen later, his voice low, his lengthening hair curling from beneath the omnipresent sponsor's hat. "It is something I always wanted to try."

Opinion among motor sports' cognoscenti has it that this will be a year-long diversion for Raikkonen – a return to Red Bull, his rally sponsors, has been touted – regardless of the cloud under which he departed Ferrari. But when he packed away those famous red overalls, amid speculation over what other drives had been open to him, or not, it struck a sad end to a nine-year affair that had established his driving reputation, secured him a world championship in 2007 and made him a rich man. "I do it for one year, then we see," he says of rallying, a sport that occupies a special place in Finnish affections.

At the end of last season, Raikkonen gave voice to his disillusionment with Formula One and the need to find a new challenge to inspire him. "In F1 too many things overshadow the racing," he said then. "There is too much politics. In Formula One too many unpleasant things are happening now."

Raikkonen wants to fall in love with driving again and rallying offers a diverse environment in which to rediscover his passion. "This is different," says the 30-year-old, who as the junior man on the circuit will drive for the Citroë*Junior team.

"There are so many more things to deal with in rallying. In F1 you go to the same circuits, lap by lap. The rally goes to completely different places – so many things can change, the surfaces, everything day to day. It's very different. It's different when you are driving against yourself – in F1 you drive against each other, here you drive against the clock. The speed is not so much but in other ways it is much more difficult."

He drove one rally last year and last week competed in the Arctic Rally, where he survived one crash to create a positive impression despite finishing down the field, well adrift of another Citroë*driver, the Spaniard Dani Sordo.

His aims for the coming season, in which he will compete in all but the New Zealand event, are limited. "I have to try and learn things, see what happens," he says. "It would be great [to get on the podium] but you have to wait and see. I really don't know what to expect. Hopefully later in the season, when I have more experience, I will start to get faster and challenge more. It is early days. I am still feeling my way."

The Arctic event in Lapland gave him an idea of just where he is, and where he needs to get to. "I haven't really had a good feeling with the car so far. There are so many areas I need to improve on. I was pretty happy in the end just to get used to it. [In Sweden] the aim is to not make too many mistakes and then see where we are. Really, I can just do my best – 10th place would be fine."

It is all a far cry from the dollar-drenched pits of Formula One. Raikkonen was reported to be the best-paid driver on the circuit at Ferrari, although he is receiving most of his Formula One salary this year as well as backing from Red Bull, so he and his wife, a former Miss Scandinavia, will not be heading for the Pound Shop quite yet.

But the world he will inhabit for the next year is markedly different – a Formula One car costs around £4.5m, a World Rally one around £600,000 – and he has already encountered one upside. "The other drivers are very nice, much more open than in Formula One – very helpful," says Raikkonen. "There is more warmth here. It is more relaxed. More fun? That depends what you like doing."

Raikkonen, for all his carefully modest ambitions, likes winning and while he is very much the support act to the brilliantly consistent Loeb ("The motivation is still strong," asserts the Frenchman) and Sordo, one of the sport's rising stars, there remains an expectation of a former world champion.

"First we must let him have time to learn," says Olivier Quesnel, Citroën's principal. "He is of the same mind. But after the first half of the season, we will not be surprised to see Kimi on the podium."

Raikkonen has bowed out of Formula One just as it appears things might be getting interesting with the return of a certain German But there are no regrets, at least not in public, instead a shrug of the shoulders conjures an insouciance worthy of the city in which he sits. "For me it does not matter," he says. "I do not follow it closely – I just read it in the papers like you."

All change: Career moves

*Rebecca Rromero A world champion rower in 2005, Romero took up track cycling in 2006, and won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

*Nelson Piquet Jnr Brazilian Formula One driver joined Nascar in the US after being dropped by Renault in the wake of the "crashgate" scandal.

*Clive Allen Former Spurs, Crystal Palace and QPR striker briefly joined NFL Europe franchise the London Monarchs as a field goal-kicker in 1997.

*Jason Robinson One of many league-to-union converts but the most successful. Scored England's only try in their 2003 World Cup victory.

*Jonathan Davies Controversially switched to rugby league in 1989, joining Widnes. Davies represented Great Britain 10 times before reverting back to union in 1995.

Source: THE INDEPENDENT
Courtesy: WHATEVER@ OF