Montag - Juli - 05.07.2010 - 18:49:15 Uhr
The Citroën C4 WRCs’ first outing in Bulgaria
After the first part of the season run exclusively on ice and gravel, the FIA World Rally Championship is back on asphalt. Rally Bulgaria, will be a new challenge for the Citroën Total World Rally Team as the event is on the WRC calendar for the first time. Sébastien Loeb et Daniel Elena, who are leading the Drivers’ World Championship, are out to score their fourth victory of the season, and to achieve this they will have to beat their team-mates, Dani Sordo and Marc Marti, who are always very quick on this type of surface.
Rally Bulgaria, one of the flagship events of the European Rally Championship, has become part of the World Championship this season. Citroën has already won this event thanks to the victory of Bruno Thiry and his Xsara Kit-Car ten years ago. For Loeb / Elena and Sordo / Marti, the rally will be a totally new challenge.
“It’s difficult to know exactly what to expect as everybody who’s told me about this event has given me a different description!” laughs Dani Sordo. “Without anticipating what lies in store, we can say that the stages are wide and quick and that the surface isn’t always in the best of states. But no worries, the team knows the car so well that it’ll be able to find the right setups for the conditions we’ll have to cope with on the spot.”
Rally Bulgaria based in Borovets, the oldest ski resort in the country, will be run on the adjacent mountain roads. There are only fourteen stages in the event whose nerve centre will be the Dolna Banya aerodrome.
“There aren’t all that many stages and some of them use the same sections in one direction or the other,” Dani goes on. “Unlike on gravel, starting sixth on the road won’t be an advantage, especially if the other cars hitting the apexes spread a lot of gravel on the lines. However, we’re happy to be back in an event on asphalt. We haven’t run on this type of surface, on which we’ve always done well, in a rally for a long time.”
Sébastien Loeb who hasn’t been beaten in a 100% asphalt event since 2005 (!) will obviously start this new rally as favourite: “It’s true that we’ve always been pretty successful on asphalt. I’m more or less in the same case as Dani: I’ve had some information about the stages we’ll have to cope with, but I don’t really pay much heed as it doesn’t change anything concerning our preparation. We’ll find out during
reconnaissance what the route is like.” For the two crews of the Citroën Total World Rally Team the aim is identical – to be in a position to go for victory to score the maximum number of points in both championships.
Loeb with three victories, two second and a third place has a comfortable lead in the Drivers’ World Championship with 38 points in hand over Sébastien Ogier. Dani Sordo, whose season got off to a difficult start, currently lies sixth. In the Manufacturers’ ratings Citroën is in first place, 26 points in front of its nearest rival.
Three questions to Sébastien Loeb
Have you been able to relax a little in the five weeks since your last rally?
“When I see how little time I’ve spent at home, I don’t feel like I’ve had any holidays! Between the different test sessions, promotion work, a quick trip to the Le Mans 24 Hours and a GT race in France, I haven’t really had time to relax. And this weekend we’ll be in Sofia to put on a road show for the Bulgarians. But as I hate doing nothing, it’s probably just as well! I feel absolutely ready to tackle the second part of the season.”
Since your retirement due to mechanical failure in the 2004 Spanish rally, you haven’t been beaten in 100% asphalt rallies. So do you reckon that the result of Rally Bulgaria is a foregone conclusion?
“It would be a huge mistake to think like that! It’s true that asphalt is our favourite hunting ground, but we have to tackle this rally in a humble state of mind. We’re going to discover a new route which will certainly have its own specific character. We’ll have to cope with the weather as stages at 2000 metres above sea level can be upset by storms, and also there’s the choice between the Pirelli P-Zero softs and
hards. As always when I start a rally my aim is victory. Even if it’s sometimes necessary, I don’t like pussy footing just to ensure a place finish if I know that I can win.”
Are you happy about the fact that the end of the season is mainly on asphalt?
“It’s all the more pleasant as last season we only raced in one true asphalt event! This year’s calendar is better balanced and I’m delighted that Rally Germany is back on it again. There’s also Rally France, which is going to be one of the high points of the season. We recently had a test session in the Vosges and I was amazed by the number of fans who turned up. I don’t even dare imagine what the ambience will be like in the rally in Alsace!”
Citroën Junior Team tastes Bulgarian asphalt
The second part of the 2010 FIA World Rally Championship gets underway with the Rally Bulgaria. On its World Championship debut, the Balkan country hosts the crews in the town of Borovets, the oldest ski resort in Bulgaria. Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia and Kimi Räikkönen / Kaj Lindström will defend the colours of the Citroën Junior Team on the event.
Of the seven rallies still to come, four will be on asphalt. Two of them will be on known territory in Germany and Spain, while the other two are completely new events in Bulgaria and Alsace. In order to prepare for the second half of the season, with its strong asphalt bias, the Citroën Junior Team has been testing in France and also took part in the Rally della Lanterna in Italy.
“This has allowed our drivers to stay match fit so that they are in the best possible position heading into the second half of the season,” explained team manager Benoit Nogier. “We have been working on how to get the best use and performance out of Pirelli’s new tyres. This experience will be very useful for the rallies still to come.”
As the roads will be new for all the World Rally Championship competitors, the Citroën Junior Team crews will suffer less from their comparative lack of experience relative to the other crews. “It’s the first asphalt rally of the season,” added Nogier. “It’s not necessarily the surface that we’re going to be the most comfortable on. As has been the case since the start of the year, our objective is simply to take away
as much experience as possible on the forthcoming rallies. That will be our watchword with Sébastien and Kimi.”
Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, the winners of the recent Rally of Portugal continued their winning streak on the Rally della Lanterna. “That was a different type of thing, but it’s all good for the confidence,” said Ogier, who is currently second in the World Championship standings. “Rally Bulgaria will be new for everyone so we are at less of a disadvantage even though we still lack experience. From
what we know the roads will be fast and quite flowing with a lot vegetation at the side of the stages. A lot of the corners will be hidden so it will be extremely important to have good pace notes.” gier continued: “The second half of the season might not be so easy for us. The goal for this first asphalt rally will be to make progress and again get closer to the frontrunners, while hoping that we can challenge for a podium.”
The best result for Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström so far has been fifth in Turkey, and now they get to discover a new surface. “Now we start a new chapter,” said the former F1 World Champion. “After snow and gravel, here we are on asphalt. It’s something that I’m really looking forward to. I had a really good feeling during the tests and I hope to be able to show that on the roads in Bulgaria.”
Three questions to… Kimi Räikkönen
How did you get on with the Citroën C4 WRC on asphalt so far?
“I was keen to drive on asphalt since the very start of the season. From the very first few kilometres in testing, I had a really good feeling with the car. That feeling was confirmed when we took part in a rally in Italy, which I enjoyed hugely. Even if we missed out on victory on the final special stage, we can only be pleased with our performance. The whole team helped us a lot on our asphalt debut. The experience that we’ve built up since the start of the season is beginning to pay off.”
Is being on asphalt an advantage for you?
“Even though I’ve spent several seasons in Formula One, the asphalt you find on circuits is not at all comparable to what we will encounter in rallying. Formula One and rally are two completely different disciplines. In the WRC, we will be competing on a number of different asphalt rallies with very diverse characteristics. You can’t compare the Rally Bulgaria with the Catalunya Rally, or with the roads in Germany or France. In just one stage you can go from wide and flowing roads to narrow or bumpy sections. The grip levels change from one corner to another too. It’s also vital to have a good feeling with your co-driver and the pace notes, as well as being able to make the most of a well-balanced car. ”
What do you expect from the Rally Bulgaria?
“It’s certainly going to be a very different type of playing field, and that is one of the things I like most about rallying. The flip side of this is that rallying is a very hard sport for anybody new to it. This first asphalt rally of the season will be a very important part of my learning process in the WRC. I’ve realized that it vital to pick things up as you go along and not try to run before you can walk. My objective is to get to the finish and completely understand my Citroën C4 WRC. We’ll see where we are at the end of the first day and then try to close the gap to our rivals.”
Useful information
Rally Bulgaria (round 7/13) (8-11 July)
Surface: asphalt
Where: Borovets
Practical information: The service park is at the Dolna Banya airport, 25 kilometres from Borovets. Rally HQ and the Media Centre are in the Hotel Rila in Borovets. There is a one-hour time difference between Bulgaria (GMT + 3) and central Europe (GMT + 2). So when it is 1200 in Borovets, it will be 1100 in Paris. On the first day of the rally, Friday 9 July, the sun will rise at 0558 and set at 2104. In July, the
highest average temperature is 28°C. The local currency is the Lev (1 EUR = 1.9566 BGN).
Technical: In Bulgaria, the cars will use the engines that were already used in Turkey and Portugal. Spare parts (gearboxes, differential sets, front and rear subframes, steering racks and turbos) will be shared with Germany.
Tyres: There will be two different types of Pirelli tyres made available. In total, 40 tyres can be used, selected from a pool of 40 hard-compound tyres and 20 soft-compound tyres.
Reconnaissance: These will take place on Tuesday 6 July from 0800 to 1900 and then on Wednesday 7 July with a maximum of two passes through each special stage. The maximum speed allowed is 70kph.
Shakedown: Thursday 8 July between 0800 and 1200 at Momin Prohoud, on a 2.65-kilometre stage that is located nine kilometres from the service park.
Press conference: Thursday 8 July at 13:30 in the Media Centre.
Start: Thursday 8 July at the Hotel Rila Park from 2000.
Route: Total length 1069.56 km, of which 354.10 kilometres are competitive. In total there are 14 special stages (seven different stages).
Timing: Day 1 – Friday 9 July: 384.82 km of which 118.68 km are competitive (four stages, two different stages). Start: 0900 – SS1: Batak Lake (31.77 km) – SS2: Belmeken Lake (27.57 km) – Service A (1302 / 30 min) – SS3: Batak Lake (31.77 km) – SS4: Belmeken Lake (27.57 km) – Service B (1714 / 45 min) – Last car into parc ferme at 2014.
Day 2 – Saturday 10 July: 489.50 km of which 140.90 km are competitive (six stages, three different stages). Start: 0700 – Service C (0700 / 15 min) – SS5: Sestrimo (27.46 km) – SS6: Peshtera (18.13 km) – SS7: Lyubnitsa (24.86 km) – Service D (1224 / 30 min) – SS8: Sestrimo (27.46 km) – SS9: Peshtera (18.13 km) – SS10: Lyubnitsa (24.86 km) – Service E (1733 / 45 min) – Last car into parc fermé at 2033.
Day 3 – Sunday 11 July: 195.24 km of which 94.52 km are competitive (four stages, two different stages). Start: 0800 – Service F (0800 / 15 min) – SS11: Muhovo (29.53 km) – SS12: Slavovitsa (17.73 km) – Service G (1051 / 30 min) – SS13: Muhovo (29.53 km) – SS14: Slavovitsa (17.73 km) – Service H (1315 / 10 min) – Finish at 1400.
Final podium: Sunday 11 July, from 1400.
Final press conference: Sunday 11 July at 1500 in the Media Centre.
Hits: 68
After the first part of the season run exclusively on ice and gravel, the FIA World Rally Championship is back on asphalt. Rally Bulgaria, will be a new challenge for the Citroën Total World Rally Team as the event is on the WRC calendar for the first time. Sébastien Loeb et Daniel Elena, who are leading the Drivers’ World Championship, are out to score their fourth victory of the season, and to achieve this they will have to beat their team-mates, Dani Sordo and Marc Marti, who are always very quick on this type of surface.
Rally Bulgaria, one of the flagship events of the European Rally Championship, has become part of the World Championship this season. Citroën has already won this event thanks to the victory of Bruno Thiry and his Xsara Kit-Car ten years ago. For Loeb / Elena and Sordo / Marti, the rally will be a totally new challenge.
“It’s difficult to know exactly what to expect as everybody who’s told me about this event has given me a different description!” laughs Dani Sordo. “Without anticipating what lies in store, we can say that the stages are wide and quick and that the surface isn’t always in the best of states. But no worries, the team knows the car so well that it’ll be able to find the right setups for the conditions we’ll have to cope with on the spot.”
Rally Bulgaria based in Borovets, the oldest ski resort in the country, will be run on the adjacent mountain roads. There are only fourteen stages in the event whose nerve centre will be the Dolna Banya aerodrome.
“There aren’t all that many stages and some of them use the same sections in one direction or the other,” Dani goes on. “Unlike on gravel, starting sixth on the road won’t be an advantage, especially if the other cars hitting the apexes spread a lot of gravel on the lines. However, we’re happy to be back in an event on asphalt. We haven’t run on this type of surface, on which we’ve always done well, in a rally for a long time.”
Sébastien Loeb who hasn’t been beaten in a 100% asphalt event since 2005 (!) will obviously start this new rally as favourite: “It’s true that we’ve always been pretty successful on asphalt. I’m more or less in the same case as Dani: I’ve had some information about the stages we’ll have to cope with, but I don’t really pay much heed as it doesn’t change anything concerning our preparation. We’ll find out during
reconnaissance what the route is like.” For the two crews of the Citroën Total World Rally Team the aim is identical – to be in a position to go for victory to score the maximum number of points in both championships.
Loeb with three victories, two second and a third place has a comfortable lead in the Drivers’ World Championship with 38 points in hand over Sébastien Ogier. Dani Sordo, whose season got off to a difficult start, currently lies sixth. In the Manufacturers’ ratings Citroën is in first place, 26 points in front of its nearest rival.
Three questions to Sébastien Loeb
Have you been able to relax a little in the five weeks since your last rally?
“When I see how little time I’ve spent at home, I don’t feel like I’ve had any holidays! Between the different test sessions, promotion work, a quick trip to the Le Mans 24 Hours and a GT race in France, I haven’t really had time to relax. And this weekend we’ll be in Sofia to put on a road show for the Bulgarians. But as I hate doing nothing, it’s probably just as well! I feel absolutely ready to tackle the second part of the season.”
Since your retirement due to mechanical failure in the 2004 Spanish rally, you haven’t been beaten in 100% asphalt rallies. So do you reckon that the result of Rally Bulgaria is a foregone conclusion?
“It would be a huge mistake to think like that! It’s true that asphalt is our favourite hunting ground, but we have to tackle this rally in a humble state of mind. We’re going to discover a new route which will certainly have its own specific character. We’ll have to cope with the weather as stages at 2000 metres above sea level can be upset by storms, and also there’s the choice between the Pirelli P-Zero softs and
hards. As always when I start a rally my aim is victory. Even if it’s sometimes necessary, I don’t like pussy footing just to ensure a place finish if I know that I can win.”
Are you happy about the fact that the end of the season is mainly on asphalt?
“It’s all the more pleasant as last season we only raced in one true asphalt event! This year’s calendar is better balanced and I’m delighted that Rally Germany is back on it again. There’s also Rally France, which is going to be one of the high points of the season. We recently had a test session in the Vosges and I was amazed by the number of fans who turned up. I don’t even dare imagine what the ambience will be like in the rally in Alsace!”
Citroën Junior Team tastes Bulgarian asphalt
The second part of the 2010 FIA World Rally Championship gets underway with the Rally Bulgaria. On its World Championship debut, the Balkan country hosts the crews in the town of Borovets, the oldest ski resort in Bulgaria. Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia and Kimi Räikkönen / Kaj Lindström will defend the colours of the Citroën Junior Team on the event.
Of the seven rallies still to come, four will be on asphalt. Two of them will be on known territory in Germany and Spain, while the other two are completely new events in Bulgaria and Alsace. In order to prepare for the second half of the season, with its strong asphalt bias, the Citroën Junior Team has been testing in France and also took part in the Rally della Lanterna in Italy.
“This has allowed our drivers to stay match fit so that they are in the best possible position heading into the second half of the season,” explained team manager Benoit Nogier. “We have been working on how to get the best use and performance out of Pirelli’s new tyres. This experience will be very useful for the rallies still to come.”
As the roads will be new for all the World Rally Championship competitors, the Citroën Junior Team crews will suffer less from their comparative lack of experience relative to the other crews. “It’s the first asphalt rally of the season,” added Nogier. “It’s not necessarily the surface that we’re going to be the most comfortable on. As has been the case since the start of the year, our objective is simply to take away
as much experience as possible on the forthcoming rallies. That will be our watchword with Sébastien and Kimi.”
Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, the winners of the recent Rally of Portugal continued their winning streak on the Rally della Lanterna. “That was a different type of thing, but it’s all good for the confidence,” said Ogier, who is currently second in the World Championship standings. “Rally Bulgaria will be new for everyone so we are at less of a disadvantage even though we still lack experience. From
what we know the roads will be fast and quite flowing with a lot vegetation at the side of the stages. A lot of the corners will be hidden so it will be extremely important to have good pace notes.” gier continued: “The second half of the season might not be so easy for us. The goal for this first asphalt rally will be to make progress and again get closer to the frontrunners, while hoping that we can challenge for a podium.”
The best result for Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström so far has been fifth in Turkey, and now they get to discover a new surface. “Now we start a new chapter,” said the former F1 World Champion. “After snow and gravel, here we are on asphalt. It’s something that I’m really looking forward to. I had a really good feeling during the tests and I hope to be able to show that on the roads in Bulgaria.”
Three questions to… Kimi Räikkönen
How did you get on with the Citroën C4 WRC on asphalt so far?
“I was keen to drive on asphalt since the very start of the season. From the very first few kilometres in testing, I had a really good feeling with the car. That feeling was confirmed when we took part in a rally in Italy, which I enjoyed hugely. Even if we missed out on victory on the final special stage, we can only be pleased with our performance. The whole team helped us a lot on our asphalt debut. The experience that we’ve built up since the start of the season is beginning to pay off.”
Is being on asphalt an advantage for you?
“Even though I’ve spent several seasons in Formula One, the asphalt you find on circuits is not at all comparable to what we will encounter in rallying. Formula One and rally are two completely different disciplines. In the WRC, we will be competing on a number of different asphalt rallies with very diverse characteristics. You can’t compare the Rally Bulgaria with the Catalunya Rally, or with the roads in Germany or France. In just one stage you can go from wide and flowing roads to narrow or bumpy sections. The grip levels change from one corner to another too. It’s also vital to have a good feeling with your co-driver and the pace notes, as well as being able to make the most of a well-balanced car. ”
What do you expect from the Rally Bulgaria?
“It’s certainly going to be a very different type of playing field, and that is one of the things I like most about rallying. The flip side of this is that rallying is a very hard sport for anybody new to it. This first asphalt rally of the season will be a very important part of my learning process in the WRC. I’ve realized that it vital to pick things up as you go along and not try to run before you can walk. My objective is to get to the finish and completely understand my Citroën C4 WRC. We’ll see where we are at the end of the first day and then try to close the gap to our rivals.”
Useful information
Rally Bulgaria (round 7/13) (8-11 July)
Surface: asphalt
Where: Borovets
Practical information: The service park is at the Dolna Banya airport, 25 kilometres from Borovets. Rally HQ and the Media Centre are in the Hotel Rila in Borovets. There is a one-hour time difference between Bulgaria (GMT + 3) and central Europe (GMT + 2). So when it is 1200 in Borovets, it will be 1100 in Paris. On the first day of the rally, Friday 9 July, the sun will rise at 0558 and set at 2104. In July, the
highest average temperature is 28°C. The local currency is the Lev (1 EUR = 1.9566 BGN).
Technical: In Bulgaria, the cars will use the engines that were already used in Turkey and Portugal. Spare parts (gearboxes, differential sets, front and rear subframes, steering racks and turbos) will be shared with Germany.
Tyres: There will be two different types of Pirelli tyres made available. In total, 40 tyres can be used, selected from a pool of 40 hard-compound tyres and 20 soft-compound tyres.
Reconnaissance: These will take place on Tuesday 6 July from 0800 to 1900 and then on Wednesday 7 July with a maximum of two passes through each special stage. The maximum speed allowed is 70kph.
Shakedown: Thursday 8 July between 0800 and 1200 at Momin Prohoud, on a 2.65-kilometre stage that is located nine kilometres from the service park.
Press conference: Thursday 8 July at 13:30 in the Media Centre.
Start: Thursday 8 July at the Hotel Rila Park from 2000.
Route: Total length 1069.56 km, of which 354.10 kilometres are competitive. In total there are 14 special stages (seven different stages).
Timing: Day 1 – Friday 9 July: 384.82 km of which 118.68 km are competitive (four stages, two different stages). Start: 0900 – SS1: Batak Lake (31.77 km) – SS2: Belmeken Lake (27.57 km) – Service A (1302 / 30 min) – SS3: Batak Lake (31.77 km) – SS4: Belmeken Lake (27.57 km) – Service B (1714 / 45 min) – Last car into parc ferme at 2014.
Day 2 – Saturday 10 July: 489.50 km of which 140.90 km are competitive (six stages, three different stages). Start: 0700 – Service C (0700 / 15 min) – SS5: Sestrimo (27.46 km) – SS6: Peshtera (18.13 km) – SS7: Lyubnitsa (24.86 km) – Service D (1224 / 30 min) – SS8: Sestrimo (27.46 km) – SS9: Peshtera (18.13 km) – SS10: Lyubnitsa (24.86 km) – Service E (1733 / 45 min) – Last car into parc fermé at 2033.
Day 3 – Sunday 11 July: 195.24 km of which 94.52 km are competitive (four stages, two different stages). Start: 0800 – Service F (0800 / 15 min) – SS11: Muhovo (29.53 km) – SS12: Slavovitsa (17.73 km) – Service G (1051 / 30 min) – SS13: Muhovo (29.53 km) – SS14: Slavovitsa (17.73 km) – Service H (1315 / 10 min) – Finish at 1400.
Final podium: Sunday 11 July, from 1400.
Final press conference: Sunday 11 July at 1500 in the Media Centre.
Hits: 68
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