Archive for October, 2007

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43 Rally RACC Catalunya. Leg 1: An overnight one-two for Citroën in Spain

Friday, October 5th, 2007

Daniel Sordo RallyRACC

The first leg of the 2007 Rally Catalunya ended this evening in Salou with Citroën C4 WRCs holding first and second places. Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena top the provisional leaderboard, while Dani Sordo and Marc Martí follow in second spot in their identical machine, just behind their team-mates.

With six stages totalling 148km on the menu, the opening day of the 2007 World Rally
Championship’s twelfth round was the longest of the weekend. The first two tests, to the northeast of the Port Aventura service park, were covered twice each, while the day concluded with two other tests, this time to the northwest. Also, with the Spanish round reverting to its autumn slot, the bad weather that moved in over the region came as no surprise.

In addition to making the stages extremely treacherous, the downpour that fell over the Costa Daurada on Thursday evening led the organisers to cancel the ceremonial start. The sun was shining, however, as the competitors left the service park early this morning, but the conditions caused Citroën Sport to think long and hard about their tyre choice. With so much water still lingering, both C4 WRCs finally went out on soft compound BFGoodrich tyres. The little amount of grip available prompted the team’s two crews to start off cautiously, but they then upped their pace on SS2 to ease into first and second places, with Sébastien ahead of Dani.

The tyre call for the second loop of stages proved complex again. Believing the conditions to be drier, Dani and Marc switched to a harder compound than their team-mates. Both Citroën C4 WRC drivers profited from the loop, however, to pull further clear of their rivals, while Seb and Dani traded positions at the top of the leaderboard.

The forecast of showers for the end of the afternoon by Météo France Sports, one of Citroën Sport’s technical partners, added a further complication to the French team’s deliberations as they considered which tyres to fit for the final loop of what turned out to be a very difficult day. The drivers take up the story in their own words…

“Our choice wasn’t ideal for the rain on SS6,” explained Sébastien Loeb. “We managed to live with it, though, and even succeeded in pulling out a useful gap over Marcus Grönholm. It’s been a dramatic opening day but the car and the team ensured we came through it unscathed. It’s looking very encouraging at the moment, but there’s still a long way to go.”

“It was a positive day for us, too,” echoed Dani Sordo. “The last stage was really very difficult but I’m pleased to say that we succeeded in pulling even further clear of Marcus. Although it’s not the most important thing this weekend, it was nice to lead a World Championship rally for the first time in my career… and on home soil, too. That was something special but, as I say, the main thing is to be ahead of Grönholm on Sunday afternoon.”

After the day’s stressful moments, a sense of relief could be read on Guy Fréquelin’s face: “It’s been a taxing day but it’s behind us now. Everyone in the Citroën team did a remarkable job to keep clear of all the potential pitfalls and to enable us to figure in first and second places this evening. Both crews put in superb runs and showed how competitive the C4 is. They are currently ahead of Marcus Grönholm which is a good thing in terms of the fight for the championship. I still prefer to be cautious, though, because we’re not even halfway into the event yet.”

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43 Rally RACC Catalunya. Leg 1 : Martin Prokop in the leading trio

Friday, October 5th, 2007

The ceremonial start scheduled for Thursday night in Salou was cancelled, so the 43rd Rally RACC Catalunya only got underway this morning for the Junior drivers. After the rain that fell last night and also at the end of the opening leg, most of the big questions centred around tyre choice.

Today’s action for the Juniors consisted of three loops of two stages each, making up a total of 148.05 competitive kilometres. Martin Prokop in the Citroen C2 Super 1600 held his own. The Czech driver, who won this rally last year, was third at the end of leg one – having driven carefully in the morning to avoid making mistakes. Conrad Rautenbach started the day with a bad tyre choice, and then never found a good enough feeling to join in the leading Junior group. He returns to service this evening in sixth place. Just behind him, young Spaniard Yeray Lemes (aged 20) drove an excellent opening day of his first World Championship rally.

On the second stage of the day he lost some time after breaking his gear lever, but he made the time up as the leg progressed – setting a third quickest time on the penultimate stage. He is currenty seventh, 7.6 seconds behind Rautenbach. Aaron Burkart in the final C2 Super 1600 was unlucky on SS3, when he went off the road after getting caught out by some loose gravel. The German found himself below the level of the road, and he took seven minutes to extricate himself. Nonetheless he remains cheerful and optimistic, ending leg one in 15th.

Yoann Bonato dominates the C2-R2 category, just as he did in Finland and Germany. His Citroen is just behind the Super 1600s, in 10th place . Stefano Benoni and Gilles Schammel enjoyed a hectic battle for second place in the category. The Italian got the better of his rival, ending up in 12th overall. Schammel found it hard to find the right rhythm in the opening pair of stages and the closing stage. He broke his clutch cable, which led to a loss of two minutes and resulted in 14th place overnight. Shaun Gallagher finished between them, having driven a cautious opening leg. The newcomer Vilius Rozukas brought up the rear of the category after a puncture in SS4, finishing in 16th place. Finally, the Belgian Raphael Auquier went off the road on the first stage and will not start tomorrow under the SupeRally rules, in order to prepare his C2-R2 for next weekend’s Rallye de France – Tour de Corse.

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Rally Catalunya. Leg 1 for SWRT

Friday, October 5th, 2007

The Subaru World Rally Team has all three cars within the top ten at the end of leg one, after a tough day on the asphalt roads of Rally Catalunya. With conditions starting damp, the asphalt was greasy and the level of grip hard to predict for the first two stages, but dry by the time the drivers started SS4 at 13:34. As grip was improving, the drivers were thrown a final curveball when heavy rain fell just as SS6 started, catching most teams by surprise on a dry setup for the last 26.48km of leg one. Petter Solberg finished the day sixth overall, Chris Atkinson eighth and Xevi Pons ninth.

Petter Solberg and Phil Mills had a consistent day in the top six. The duo finished with a solid drive to fourth fastest in the treacherous conditions on SS6 while being unable to change from a dry setup for the sudden rain. The Norwegian’s confidence in the car allowed him to close on Francois Duval in fifth position to narrow the gap to just 9.6 seconds. Using the day to make small setup changes, Petter felt the balance of the car improved, and there is still more to come for the next two legs.

With conditions for SS1 damp and slippery, Chris Atkinson took a gamble on harder tyres, finishing sixth fastest in the first stage but experiencing a serious lack of grip in the second. He overshot a junction and, while the car was undamaged, had slipped to 11th by the time he finished. The first service of the day allowed a change of BFGoodrich compound that allowed Chris and co-driver Stephane Prevot to return to posting top-six stage times and climb the overall standings steadily to eighth at the end of leg one, 11.0 seconds behind Latvala in seventh.

After an encouraging shakedown session in which Xevi Pons was second fastest, Friday morning was a little more challenging for Subaru’s local boy, who encountered brake troubles during the first loop of two stages. Having improved the situation, he climbed to seventh overall before a stall dropped him to ninth by the end of SS3. Buoyed by the enthusiasm and cheers of the local fans, Xevi drove through the rain on SS6 with malfunctioning windscreen wipers, greatly impeding his visibility, to consolidate ninth overall by the end of the day.

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Solid start for BP-Ford as rain in Spain sparks tactical battle

Friday, October 5th, 2007

Hirvonen RallyRACC

BP-Ford World Rally Team lies third and fourth following today’s opening leg of Rally de España during which the ever-changing road conditions sparked a fascinating game of tactics between the major players. Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen lead the BP-Ford squad in third in a Focus RS World Rally Car while team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen are fourth in a similar vehicle. Each won one of the day’s six asphalt speed tests.

Tyre selection was the dominant factor as the conditions in the mountains near Salou, south of Barcelona, changed from wet this morning to dry by early afternoon and back to wet again this evening. Forecasting how quickly the roads would dry and estimating exactly when the rain would fall was the name of the game as teams calculated whether to opt for dry or wet weather set-up on their cars for the three groups of special stages.

Torrential rain forced organisers to cancel last night’s start ceremony for this 12th round of the FIA World Rally Championship after the seafront roads in Salou became flooded. Instead drivers, officials and team personnel paid their tributes to ex-Ford driver and world champion Colin McRae during an emotional 15-minute ceremony at the rally headquarters. Today drivers tackled two laps of two stages north-east of the town before a final loop of two tests to the west, totalling 148.05km.

Grönholm made a perfect start by winning the opening stage but as temperatures rose and the wet roads began to dry, the 39-year-old Finn slipped to third. He opted for BFGoodrich’s medium soft compound tyres with additional cuts hand-carved into the rubber for the second loop in expectation of mixed conditions. However, the roads were bone dry and he dropped time to Sébastien Loeb, his arch rival for the drivers’ title.

A dry weather set-up and tyres were the perfect choice for the first stage of the final loop and Grönholm ate into Loeb’s advantage with second fastest time. However, as he sat on the start line of the final test, the rain began to fall and Loeb’s softer specification for wet weather paid dividends as the Frenchman stretched his lead to 50.6sec over Grönholm.

“It felt like I could go off on every corner so I drove cautiously,” he said. “I need to think about the points to be gained from third place rather than risk losing everything by chasing Loeb in the rain on the wrong tyres. I had no feeling with the car in the wet and I was scared to push. The car was great in the dry on the previous stage but the rain came just 15 minutes too early. I hate this inconsistent weather and I hope tomorrow is dry so that I can keep the pressure on in case Seb makes a mistake.

“This morning I had the right tyres. On the middle loop I expected the roads to be mainly dry but wet in the shade, and there were a lot of trees alongside the roads. But they were totally dry and I had too many cuts in the tyres which were moving all the time. I knew after just a few hundred metres of the first stage in the group that it was the wrong choice,” he added.

BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson admitted this evening’s tyre choice was risky. “We knew the penultimate stage was dry and there was a risk of showers on the final test. We took a gamble, knowing that if the last stage stayed dry we would make a big time gain, and if not we would not lose position. If we had opted for the same set-up as Loeb we would have gained no time,” he said.
Hirvonen held fourth throughout the day. He was uncomfortable in the wet this morning but was much happier as the conditions dried out and was fastest on the penultimate stage before the rain returned. He is just 2.6sec behind his team-mate.

“At the start of the first stage, on damp roads, I had no confidence,” he explained. “I was seven seconds slower than Marcus on the first 4km. It was the right tyre choice, it was just a struggle for me in those conditions. The car was happy, it’s just the driver that wasn’t! I felt more comfortable with my driving on the drier roads and I had a better feeling. It’s tricky to choose the right set-up when conditions are mixed like this. The whole package has to be exactly right to set the best times. Now I need to keep the pressure on tomorrow to try to keep François Duval behind me. It’s important for the team’s title challenge and for Marcus’ title hopes that we both finish ahead of him.”

Abu Dhabi’s Khalid Al Qassimi and Nicky Beech were 14th in another BP-Ford Focus RS on their Spanish debut until a conservative approach in the wet this evening dropped them to 18th. “I have sampled a wide range of new experiences today. It was foggy this morning and then on the final stage the rain was so heavy that I decided not to take risks. The windscreen misted and a wiper broke so I had to peer around that to see the road,” he said.

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Light and shadows for OMV Kronos Citroen WRT

Friday, October 5th, 2007

The OMV Kronos Citroen WRT has mixed feelings when looking back on the first day of the „Rallye RACC Catalunya“, the eleventh run to the FIA World Rally Championship. Following the early retirement of Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor on special stage three the hopes lay on Francois Duval (Bel) and co Patrick Pivato (Fra). And the Belgian OMV driver in the Citroen Xsara WRC impressed with best-time on SS 3 and third place on the fourth special stage. Following day one in Spain he currently lies in good fifth overall place.

At the beginning of the first day of the Rally of Spain OMV Kronos Citroen WRT-driver Francois Duval was still a bit cautious until he finally put his foot really down on the third special stage and proved that he belongs to the top drivers on tarmac. Result: best-time ahead of World Champion Sebastien Loeb (Fra/Citroen C4 WRC). And on the next stage third place meant another top result for the OMV driver in the Citroen Xsara WRC.

Hard and slippery
Following this conditions didn’t suit him as much anymore but he nevertheless securely stayed within scoring ranks. Duval: „It was a little bit too hard and slippery for my taste. The car was moving around a bit much.“ Thus the Belgian OMV driver and his French co Patrick Pivato finished the first day of the Rally of Spain in good fifth overall place – although only 9,6 seconds ahead of Petter Solberg (Nor/Subaru Impreza WRC), which promises a hot infight for Saturday.

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OMV Kronos Citroen WRT Stohl/Minor retire early from Rally of Spain

Friday, October 5th, 2007

The OMV Team Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor had to retire early at the “Rallye RACC Catalunya”, the eleventh run to the FIA World Rally Championship. Four kilometres into the third special stage the Citroen Xsara WRC started to slip on the loose gravel – followed by a rollover five metres down an embankment which spelt retirement for this WRC-run. Fortunately, driver and co-driver remained unhurt. The second crew of the OMV Kronos Citroen World Rally Team proved to be luckier. Following best-time on SS 3, Belgian Francois Duval currently lies in fifth place and is on the hunt to catch up with Mikko Hirvonen (Fin/Ford Focus WRC) in front of him.

Following the first two special stages and about 50 kilometres OMV driver Manfred Stohl had been very satisfied. He had a good feeling concerning the Citroen Xsara WRC and was within scoring range in eighth overall place. But then fate hit and early retirement was the result.
“We started to slip towards the embankment in a left turn – and unfortunately the embankment was five metres steep. Currently luck really isn’t my lady. I am especially sorry because the Kronos Team really did a great job “, said Stohl.
Other teams were equally unfortunate at this very spot on SS 3. Six cars overall dropped out in this turn.
Due to the damage done to the car a restart within SupeRally won’t be possible for the OMV Team Stohl/Minor.

Fourth place in sight
The second crew of the OMV Kronos Citroen World Rally Team proves to be luckier so far. Francois Duval/Patrik Pivot (Bel/Fra) already made up six places and currently lie in promising fifth intermediate place following their best-time on special stage three. The hunt for Finn Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Focus WRC) in front of them is on.

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Citroen C2R2 Cup round 5 – International Rally Yorkshire

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007

The Citroën C2R2 Cup returns, like the main Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship, to gravel this weekend on International Rally Yorkshire.

The little 1600 cc front wheel drive flyers will contest one of the fastest gravel rallies in Europe, although even the fastest driver cannot seal the championship on this event.

Yorkshire will see five of the contenders battle for overall honours within the C2R2 Cup and for overall BRC position. Jason Pritchard leads the series after an opening event win and consistent points scores all season, retaking the top spot from Martin Roberts, who had a nightmare first day in Ulster.

Pritchard’s 100% scoring record leaves him eighteen points clear, but when dropped scores are taken into account at the end of the year, the one make series will undoubtedly be closed up. Martin Laverty took second on home ground in Ulster but George Thomas won for a second time, although with two zero scores, he can’t afford any slip-ups on the final events. Japanese driver Kazutomo Kusama has decided to persevere after a run of bad luck at the start of the year was only thrown off in Ulster. He is determined to gain experience in the UK’s inaugural C2R2 Cup on “proper” International rallies.

International Rally Yorkshire starts on Saturday 6th October at 9am from Pickering Showground, returning for service at 12.30 and to the finish just after 6pm. The ultra compact route means drivers will need to be on the pace from the off on this sprint event.

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Press release. Simon Jean-Joseph and the Citroën C2 return to action in Greece

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007

After a break of more than a month, it’s back to work for Simon Jean-Joseph and Jack Boyère whose European Rally Championship campaign resumes with this weekend’s Elpa Rally in Greece. The French pair will contest the ninth round of the series with the PH Sport-run Citroën C2 Super 1600.

For the first time since 2002, the penultimate round of the ERC returns to the Halkidiki Peninsula in northern Greece. The other major change this year is the event’s mixed format, with the super- special and opening leg all on asphalt before switching to gravel for the second day. The majority of the action (148km) takes place on gravel, however, while the rally features an otherwise
classic menu of several loops of stages to be contested twice each.

After its busy summer schedule, which took it to a long list of ERC and Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) rounds, PH Sport profited from the break that followed late-August’s Barum Rally to carefully prepare the Citroën C2 Super 1600 that will compete in Greece. Meanwhile, Simon Jean-Joseph used the time to hone his physical fitness. “It will be nice to be back in action again,”
he says. “I’m looking forward to getting back onto the stages and I’m really excited by the events that are coming up, beginning with the Elpa Rally.”

“Thanks to my experience of the Acropolis Rally and of various Greek European Championship rounds, I have a fair amount of experience of Greek-style stages,” the Martinique-based driver observes. “That will doubtlessly come in useful for the Elpa Rally which this year takes place in a region that is pretty much unknown territory for me. Apart from the fact that it’s a mixed-surface
event, I know little about it. As a rule, the asphalt in Greece isn’t that hard-wearing but it offers relatively little grip, although the gravel frequently warrants its reputation as being particularly punishing. Let’s hope it won’t be too rough this weekend.”

“I enjoy both types of surface, so the format isn’t a problem for me,” adds Simon who is currently third in the ERC standings. “In fact, as a driver, I think mixed events are a good idea. That said, it’s not really to our advantage against the four-wheel drive cars. We will do our utmost to be as quick and consistent as possible and try to score as many points as we can. The C2’s
strength and performance will be invaluable in helping us achieve that goal.”

PH Sport boss Bernard Piallat says that the mixed-surface format doesn’t pose his team any particular problems: “The most important thing is to prepare thoroughly beforehand so that we don’t forget anything when we swap the C2 Super 1600 from asphalt to gravel spec, which essentially involves the suspension, brakes, wishbones and subframes, etc. We will also add underbody protection.
The team knows the C2 inside out and the job is reasonably straightforward with this car. We will have 2 hours and 45 minutes to make the changes and that should be amply sufficient. Indeed, the mechanics are quite excited at the prospect; it will make a pleasant change.”

“Simon Jean-Joseph, Jack Boyère and the Citroën C2 Super 1600 have been strong on both asphalt and gravel all season,” points out Citroën Sport’s Customer Competition Manager Yves Matton. “This weekend’s mixed format is another interesting challenge for them and will also give them a fresh chance to show off their skills on both types of surface. They will be able to count on the
speed and reliability of their Citroën to try to score the points they need to be in with a chance of finishing in the final top-three of the ERC when the championship heads to Antibes, France, for the final round of the year.”

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Press release. OMV Kronos Citroen WRT fully manned again

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007

The OMV Kronos Citroen World Rally Team will be fully manned once again at the “Rallye RACC Catalunya – Costa Daurada”, the eleventh run to the FIA World Rally Championship. Just like in Germany, Francois Duval (Bel) and Patrick Pivato (Fra) will steer a Citroen Xsara WRC beside Austrians Manfred Stohl and Ilka Minor. And chances are high that both OMV Teams will score points. Following Duval’s sensational second place in Germany, Stohl also wants to prove his prowess on tarmac. Prior to the rally weekend from October 5 to 7 the OMV Kronos Citroen World Rally Team will complete a day of testing in Spain on Monday.

Account not yet settled
Manfred Stohl still has an account to settle with the Rally of Spain. Following his testing-accident last year the 35-year-old Austrian had finished in twelfth overall place. Stohl: “Each time we cut Ilka’s and my own ribs hurt like hell. Which made it very hard to focus on driving. Besides that I really like it in Spain. But one surely can’t compare this rally to the WRC-run in Germany. The grip should be much stronger here. And that definitely suits us.“ In any case, the OMV driver hopes for a problem-free rally since at the last three events retirements and technical problems were the rule rather than the exception.

Great Spain-balance
Francois Duval can look back on an impeccable balance in Spain. In 2003 he came in fourth with a Ford Focus WRC. In 2005 he finished second in the Citroen Xsara WRC and last year saw him in sixth place in a Skoda Fabia WRC. Therefore the Belgian OMV driver is a legitimate candidate for a podium place. Duval’s second place in Germany also had another positive consequence since, beside Spain, he will also compete in the OMV Kronos Citroen Xsara WRC in the next tarmac WRC-run in Corsica which will take place one week later. Duval: “I am very happy that I was offered this opportunity. It proves that success is being rewarded. I hope that I will be able to return the favour by reaching further top results.”

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Press release. New focus for OMV in corporate sponsoring

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007

The end of the year 2007 will mark the termination of sponsoring activities by OMV in international and national rally sports, since in the future the focus will be increasingly on the social sector and renewable energies. The respective ressources will be concentrated on these areas from 2008 on. The commitment of OMV in rally sports has been very successful. The new main focus in sponsoring shall follow this example.

Currently OMV is involved in rally sports with an integrated model package. The OMV Kronos Citroen World Rally Team, the two OMV BIXXOL Rally Teams, teams in the National Championships in the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Slovakia, as well as events in Austria, Hungary, Germany and Serbia are being supported. These projects will be discontinued from season 2008 on.

“With great ambition we have successfully pursued and constantly refined the rally project. Now we have reached the zenith. Therefore it is time to tackle new challenges. These lie in the expansion of our activities in the social sector and the ones concerning renewable energies”, explains Brigitte Mühlwisch, Head of Corporate Sponsoring of OMV.

According to the new perspective the further assignment of the OMV CNG (compressed natural gas) Rally Team is being evaluated. A decision can be expected within the next weeks.

Thanks to all parties involved
Numerous parties have had their share in the success of rally sponsoring by OMV. Foremost among those are, of course, the drivers and co-drivers from 15 countries who have gathered 214 points in the last four years alone in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC, P-WRC, JWRC). Thanks are also due to the assigned teams as well as to all hosts and organisers. Of course, this success was also only made possible through the help of media representatives who have actively and energetically supported these activities during the last four years.

All activities of OMV in rally sports will be continued until the end of 2007. The national highlight of the season will be the “OMV Rally Waldviertel” from November 8 to 10 in Austria. In the WRC the last bow will be taken by the OMV Kronos Citroen World Rally Team and the two OMV BIXXOL Rally Teams at the “Wales Rally GB” from November 30 to December 2.

Background informations:

OMV in the FIA World Rally Championship

Successful history of OMV rally commitment
In 2004 a new era in rally sponsoring began for OMV. Three cars were employed in the FIA Production World Rally Championship. Three victories turned the OMV World Rally Team into the most successful team of the series. Additionally, Jani Paasonen (Fin) finished in third overall place in this series. Especially noticed was the rookie-contest which was won by German Sebastian Vollak who then could complete a whole season. Another first was the name sponsoring of a run to the FIA World Rally Championship. With the OMV ADAC Rallye Germany, OMV took a further step to intensify its international activities.

The OMV World Rally Team in the royal class for the first time
In 2005 Manfred Stohl was able to compete in ten runs in a World Rally Car for the first time. Soon the 35-year-old Viennese in the Citroen Xsara WRC celebrated his first big successes. Second place in Cyprus and third place in Australia meant the first podium places for the OMV Team. Teammate Xavier Pons (Spa) competed in six runs. In group N the OMV World Rally Team was represented by Brit Natalie Barratt, back then the only female driver in rallying. And once again the group was name- and main sponsor of the OMV ADAC Rallye Germany, one of 16 runs to the FIA World Rally Championship.

OMV also in manufacture ranking
In 2006 the international rally project was further expanded. Manfred Stohl competed in all 16 runs to the WRC in the OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team. Teammate Henning Solberg took part in ten runs. In the driver ranking Manfred Stohl took four podium places and fourth overall place in the WRC. The best result of a privateer in the history of the Rally World Championship. Henning Solberg (Nor) also celebrated big successes by finishing third in Turkey and fourth in Finland. In the P-WRC the OMV CEE Team also employed two drivers who scored points. And last but not least there was German Aaron Burkart who proved his talent in the FIA Junior World Rally Championship. The year also marked the last time as name sponsor of the OMV ADAC Rally Germany.

OMV in the lead CO2-neutral for the first time
2007 marked the return to Citroen in the World Championship. The OMV Kronos Citroen World Rally Team celebrated its biggest success when Francois Duval (Bel) held the lead on the first day of the Rally Germany and finally finished the rally in excellent second place. The Production Car World Rally Championship saw an increasing employment of drivers from OMV countries. The two OMV BIXXOL Rally Teams compete with drivers from the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania in this series. Several activities by OMV provided further highlights in the scene. Since the end of March, the OMV Kronos Citroen World Rally Team is the first and so far only team in the FIA World Rally Championship that competes CO²-neutral. In Germany Manfred Stohl and Ilka Minor competed in a car that was designed by children which represented the connection to OMV Move & Help, the educational program by OMV. To this behalf OMV donates 20 Euro for each completed special stage kilometre by the team. At the end of the year the final amount will be given to SOS Children’s Village, Caritas and UNICEF for educational programs in Europe and Pakistan.


OMV in the National Rally Championships
OMV can also look back on impressive successes in National Rally Championships. During recent years numerous Championship titles in the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Slovakia went to OMV Teams. One was furthermore represented as name sponsor at national rally events in Austria, Hungary, Germany and Serbia. For the first time worldwide a natural gas driven Mitsubishi was successfully employed in the Austrian Championship.

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