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Rally Ireland. A new era with the Citroen Junior Team

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

The Citroen Junior Team will make its competition debut on the opening round of the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship, the Rally Ireland. Three Citroen C4 WRCs will be entrusted to Chris Atkinson/Stéphane Prevot, Conrad Rautenbach/Daniel Barritt and Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia.

Having claimed a fourth manufacturers’ title last year, Citroen has now entered a second team in this category for the 2009 season. Complementing the Citroen-Total World Rally Team, the Citroen Junior Team will reinforce the marque’s presence on the championship by providing a cradle for young talent.

Building on the foundations laid in 2008, the Citroen Junior Team will take the start of the first round of the year with three Citroen C4 WRCs. The crews of Australian Chris Atkinson and Belgian Stéphane Prevot (n.7), together with Zimbabwe’s Conrad Rautenbach and Briton Daniel Barritt have been chosen to score team points in the World Championship for Manufacturers. The French crew of Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia will drive the third Citroen C4 WRC, which wears number 11.

Rally Ireland marks the start of a season that will take in 12 rounds, and just like last year the rally route will run on roads through both the Republic of Ireland and also the United Kingdom. The fast, narrow and bumpy stages are guaranteed to pose a real challenge for the crews. The local weather at the end of January could well take in ice and snow – so all the drivers will be forced to think on their feet!

Chris Atkinson is the only member of the Citroen Junior Team to have already competed on the Rally Ireland, but he will be making his debut in the Citroen C4 WRC. After a test session earlier in January, the young Australian was already impressed. “I had a good feeling with the car straight away and I felt more and more comfortable with every kilometre that went by,” he said. “The Citroen C4 WRC is different to the other cars that I have driven before. The more I attack the better it seems to work.”

The Australian is now looking forward to a welcoming but challenging event. “There’s a fantastic atmosphere with a huge crowd,” he said. “The event itself is really tricky. The roads are bumpy and often very dirty. At this time of year, we might even find some ice. We’re going to start the event using settings that the team has already established from the past. Then, when it comes to the start of the rally, we will see how we are getting on. I’ve got no other aim other than just to score some points for the Citroen Junior Team and demonstrate our competitiveness compared to the other crews.”

Following his debut season in the Citroen C4 WRC last year, Conrad Rautenbach is planning to up his game in 2009. “I learnt a lot from last year,” he said. “That first season with Citroen Sport Technologies allowed me to gain a lot of experience. I now understand the C4 WRC and its behaviour a lot better.

This year, I’ll be able to push much harder in the places that I know well. Rally Ireland is certainly one of the most difficult events of the whole championship though. My primary objective will be to get to the finish with the aim of scoring points. I was able to see once more just how difficult the roads in Ireland were when I took part in national rally there in January, driving a Citroen Xsara WRC. The conditions were particularly difficult and I’m sure that will be the case again on the Rally Ireland next
week. The event also allowed me to get up to speed with my new co-driver, Daniel Barritt. So everything went really well.”

After clinching the 2008 Junior World Rally Championship in a Citroen C2 Super 1600, Sébastien Ogier will now tackle his first season at the wheel of a World Rally Car. “The 2009 season promises to be a nice one for me, thanks to a very good programme with the Citroen Junior Team,” he said. “I took part in the Ulster Rally last year with a Citroen C2-R2 MAX. It was my first experience of Irish roads, even though the profile of the World Rally Championship event there looks somewhat different. I think this is going to be a very complex rally, with some ice and frost expected at this time of year. The roads are
narrow and bumpy, plus they get dirty very quickly. By starting the first day around 10th on the road, we are sure to find some particularly delicate conditions. My key objective is to finish. I don’t have any real pressure in terms of results: I just need to keep making progress and learning as the event goes on.”

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Rally Ireland, Citroën and Loeb/Elena out to defend their titles

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

After the short, seven-week winter break, World Rally Championship action resumes in Ireland at the end of January. Following its exceptional 2008 campaign, which harvested 11 wins from 15 rounds, plus both world crowns, Citroën will be back to defend its two titles in 2009. As in previous years, the C4 WRCs officially representing the colours of the Citroën Total World Rally Team will be in the hands of five-time World Champions Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and their team-mates Dani Sordo/Marc Marti.

The Rally Ireland, which first counted towards the WRC in 2007, not only returns to the calendar this year but also has the privilege of kicking off the 2009 championship. The route extends from the mountains of Sligo to the lakes of Fermanagh, with stages in both Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. The region’s fast yet narrow are famed for being very bumpy, but the terrain clearly suits the Citroën C4 WRC, since Sébastien Loeb and Dani Sordo came first and second on the 2007 event.

Even so, the Citroën Total WRT goes into this year’s encounter in the knowledge that nothing can be taken for granted. Didier Clément, the Operations Manager in charge of the C4 WRCs on events, underlines the two key features of this season’s curtain-raiser: “First of all, we will need to keep a close eye on the weather which promises to be variable and wet! And with temperatures potentially close to freezing point, ice and snow cannot be ruled out either. The main new parameter concerns the Pirelli tyres we will have for this unique situation, since crews will be able to choose between two products, the soft compound PZero patterned tyre and the non-studded Sotto Zero snow tyre. A test session in Ireland enabled us to fine-tune the C4 WRC’s set-up and also evaluate the performance of both types of tyre in the different conditions we are likely to encounter. We have prepared well, but nothing can ever replace actually competing to find out where you really stand.”

Although the cars don’t feature any major technical evolutions, a new system has been introduced with a view to enhancing crew safety. “The doors are now filled with high density foam aimed at absorbing impact energy in an accident. As a result, it is not possible to open the side windows which are now made from polycarbonate. This step forward was possible thanks to close collaboration between the FIA and the manufacturers,” explains Didier Clément.

Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, who won the Rally Ireland in 2007, are glad to be contesting the event once again. “The first time we came here, the conditions were rather delicate, but everything went well for us and the result proved decisive in our bid to win a fourth world title,” recalls Seb. “This year’s championship kicks off with four rounds that weren’t on last year’s calendar, but they are not new territory because we did them all in 2007. And our objective hasn’t changed either: after notching up five consecutive world titles, we are obviously aiming for a sixth crown! It’s going to be an interesting season and I expect it to be very close. Mikko Hirvonen is improving all the time, while Jari-Matti Latvala has really come on, too. There are the other C4 WRC drivers as well, of course, starting with my own team-mate, Dani, and also Chris Atkinson.”

The Frenchman, who has scored 47 world class wins in the course of his career, expects the conditions to be particularly tricky in Ireland: “The event has everything it takes to be a tough rally. Pre-event testing has enabled us to optimise the stability of our C4 WRC. Dani feels the same way, but it’s only on the stages that we will really be able to see how effective our work has been.”

Despite the brevity of the winter break, Dani Sordo is eager to get back behind the wheel competitively: “As in previous years, the season begins on asphalt and that’s a good thing. I like the Irish stages, but the weather promises to make this year’s event difficult. OK, we will be able to choose between two types of tyre, but the Sotto Zero will only come into its own if it really snows. I have prepared hard for this rally, with a daily fitness training programme, plus some very fruitful testing.”

After securing the bronze medal in the 2008 World Championship, the Spaniard has his sights set high for this season: “To begin with, I will be out to score as many Manufacturers’ points as possible for Citroën. I finished third in last year’s Drivers’ standings and I would like to do at least as well this time round. And why not one step higher? I would also like to score my first WRC win this year.”

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Efficiency, performance, and reliability for Simon Jean- Joseph and the C2-R2 MAX in Portugal

Sunday, May 11th, 2008

At the end of the 42nd Portugal Rally, Simon Jean-Joseph and Jack Boyere made the most of their C2-R2 MAX’s potential to win Group A and their class, as well as the two-wheel drive category. Using their extremely effective BFGoodrich tyres, the Citroen, prepared and maintained by the PH-Sport team, showed its class on the Portuguese stages.

The rally was run in the Algarve region to the south of Portugal, and kept up the standards as well as part of the route that was used last year on the World Championship. The route consisted of just over 249 competitive kilometres split amongst 13 stages. Having met with universal approval in 2007, the organisation and the roads were once more exemplary.

Simon Jean-Joseph was one of the many to be delighted by this event. At the end of the recce, he enthused about the spectacular nature of the gravel stages. The rally got underway with a spectator superspecial around the streets of Faro on Thursday night, while the first day on Friday allowed Simon to get to grips with the local territory. He was immediately at his ease, climbing to the lead of his class, Group A, and the two-wheel drive category. « We got off to a perfect start, » said the man from Martinique. « I had a very good feeling with the C2-R2 MAX, which was disconcertingly easy to drive. It felt competitive and natural both in the dry of the opening loop, as well as in the damp of the afternoon. »

The Citroen crew started leg two with a double objective. They aimed to continue to dominate the category and also to improve their position in the overall classification. Throughout the day, the enthusiastic Portuguese fans – who are as passionate as they are enthusiastic – gave the C2-R2 MAX a warm welcome. « I think they were amazed at the performance and the show that a car of this size could provide, » said Simon at the finish. « The development work that Citroen Sport has put into this car really paid off today. The MAX grips, slides, jumps and lands really well. It’s comfortable, precise, easy to handle, and above all really sure-footed and competitive. Using a set-up that absolutely every driver could utilise, we had a really good time on these amazing roads in the C2-R2 MAX, which were damp today. The only thing that myself and Jack regret is the fact that there’s not another day tomorrow ! »

«We can draw an extremely positive conclusion from this third rally of the season for Simon and Jack, » said Jean-François Liénéré, who is responsible for Citroen Sport’s customer operation. « Once more, the C2-R2 MAX demonstrated excellent performance and reliability. Just as was the case on the asphalt of the Rally Eger a few weeks ago, our tyres from BFGoodrich were absolutely flawless. We had no punctures at all, and the way they worked on the Portuguese stages allowed the Citroen crew to perform to the best of their abilities. »

The third round of the Citroen C2 Challenge, organised by Citroen Portugal, was won by Paulo Antunes/ Hugo Magalhães…

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Citroën targets victory in Sardinia

Friday, May 9th, 2008

The 2008 World Rally Championship moves on to Sardinia for the sixth round of the season, the Rally d’Italia Sardegna. Citroën Total has entered two C4 WRCs for its usual crews Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Martí, while two privately-entered C4 WRCs run by PH Sport with the support of technicians from Citroën Technologies will contest the Italian event in the hands of Conrad Rautenbach/David Senior and Urmo Aava/Kuldar Sikk.

For many years, Italy’s round of the WRC was based in Sanremo before switching to Sardinia in 2004. This year, the all-gravel fixture features 344.73km of competitive action divided into 17 stages. Only the final test, which hugs the coast to the north of Olbia, is new, while the rest of the route uses tracks inland to the south of the host town.

With four previous visits to the Mediterranean island under their belts, the teams and drivers are now perfectly familiar with the specific challenges of Sardinia, especially since the WRC teams come here often for testing purposes. The stages are generally twisty, narrow and lined with inhospitable rocks, so average speeds are quite slow and even a tiny error can prove costly. The sandy surface tends to evolve over the weekend, grip is often at a premium and running order can play an important role, with the first drivers on the road facing a significant amount of ‘road sweeping’ duty. Citroën’s two crews will start in second and fifth positions respectively and will endeavour to make the most of their start order.

Following their wins in Sardinia in 2005 and 2006, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena came close to making it three in a row in 2007. They succeeded in finding a set-up and pace that put them in a strong position but a mistake then put them out of contention for victory. They prefer not to talk in terms of revenge, but the reigning champions are especially keen to top this year’s final podium in Porto Cervo.

“I’m not one to dwell on the past and last year’s incident is well and truly behind us,” says Sébastien. “This is a particularly selective rally which I enjoy very much, but this year we will need to see how our tyres perform without run-flat mousse.”

This is effectively a factor that will need to be taken into account in Sardinia where Seb and Daniel are targeting outright victory. “Our misadventure in Jordan is behind us, too,” adds the World Champion. “We were on top and looking good to extend our lead in the championship, and here we are now with a five-point deficit to make up. We will be looking to start bridging that gap in Sardinia and I am encouraged by the C4’s competitiveness over a broad variety of terrains, as well as by the work put in to adapt it to its tyres.”

Dani Sordo and Marc Martí spent much of the Jordan Rally in the lead and their run produced several valuable pointers, beginning with the Citroën C4’s potential against its rivals, as well as the speed of the Spanish pair who now stand out as potential winners on all types of surface, not just on asphalt. “Leading is nice but not always easy,” admits Dani. “I had an excellent feeling with my car and the times I posted were big confidence boosters. Although I believe I still lack experience when it comes to finishing, adapting the way I drive and regarding how best to approach running first on the road, Jordan was positive on those fronts, too.”

Despite winning the Junior category in Sardinia in 2005 and coming third last year, Dani only moderately enjoys this event. “It’s not my favourite,” he recognises. “I think it will be tricky and tyres promise to play a major role. For instance, how will our Pirelli Hard tyres – which we won’t be able to ‘re-cut’ – perform here? And with so many rocks about, it will be important to steer clear of punctures.” These considerations don’t prevent the Spaniard from targeting another podium finish in Sardinia. That would clearly be beneficial for both championships and would notably permit Citroën to keep up its bid for the 2008 Manufacturers’ crown.

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42 Portugal Rally, Jean-Joseph and the C2-R2 MAX set to confirm their pace

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

The third round of the European programme of Simon Jean-Joseph, Jack Boyère and the PH Sport-prepared Citroën C2-R2 MAX will take place on the Rally of Portugal this weekend. The Citroën crew will once again be relying on experience, talent and its BFGoodrich tyres to continue to demonstrate the C2-R2 MAX’s potential on gravel.

Portugal was always an iconic event on the World Rally Championship, although it did not form part of the series from 2002 and 2006. It returned to the WRC last year, but this season forms part of the IRC (Intercontinental Rally Challenge). The new-look Portugal Rally takes place entirely in the Algarve, the country’s most southerly region. A number of elements have been carried over directly from last year: the service park next to the Algarve Stadium and classic stages such as S. Bras Alportel (SS4-7) or Ourique (SS9-12). Other aspects, such as the timing of the event, are quite different. Just over 249 competitive kilometres have been spread over three days and 13 special stages – including a brand new all-asphalt superspecial stage that will run through the streets of Faro. The rest of the rally will take place on gravel.

« I’m very pleased to be getting to know this rally », enthused Simon Jean-Joseph. « Portugal is a country that I really love. Motorsport enjoys huge support there and every event turns into a massive party. The fans are extremely knowledgeable and we receive a very warm welcome. I’m even more motivated than ever following the mishap during our last rally with the C2-R2 MAX: I’m keen to put things right. I know that we have the chance of scoring a very good result, and our aim is to make that happen in Faro – where the quite smooth and fast gravel should suit our car. »

« We will be competing against an extremely high quality field, with a number of very well-known crews, » added the man from Martinique. « The traction, roadholding and user-friendliness of our Citroën C2-R2 MAX, matched to our excellent tyres supplied by BFGoodrich are our trump cards. This will once more allow us to take on some extremely talented drivers not just from our own class, but from the class above – which is again our objective. »

Jean-François Liénéré, in charge of Citroën Sport’s customer competition programme, commented: « From its very first rally on gravel in England, we could see how competitive the Citroën C2-R2 MAX was on this surface. Unfortunately, an impact with a big rock that was right on the racing line meant that Simon and Jack were not able to finish the job off. But the performances shown by drivers with far less experience than Simon, during the second round of the C2 Junior Experience on the Jordan Rally, underlined the car’s excellent potential. In Portugal, the Citroën crew is going to once more try and punch above its weight. The day after the rally, in collaboration with Citroën Portugal and the Algarve Automobile Club, we will be hosting a day of promotion and presentation of the C2-R2 MAX, which will allow Portuguese media and drivers to sample the new car for themselves. »

The Portugal Rally will also be the third round of the ‘Citroën C2 Challenge’, organised by Citroën Portugal.

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A mixed day for Citroën Sport

Saturday, April 26th, 2008

The second day of the Jordan Rally ended this evening on the shores of the Dead Sea with Dani Sordo/Marc Martí still in front with their Citroën C4 WRC. Urmo Aava/Kuldar Sikk are fifth with their Citroën C4 WRC which is run by PH Sport with the support of technicians from Citroën Sport Technologies.

The menu of the second leg was very similar to that of Friday, with four stages to be contested twice each and a total competitive distance of 109.84km. The combination of rocky stages, high speeds and searing heat made it an extremely challenging day, but Citroën’s domination in the difficult conditions was poorly rewarded.

The first class run of Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and their C4 WRC was halted by an incident that is rarely seen in the sport: “We decided to push hard this morning to try to move into the lead,” explained Sébastien Loeb back at the service park by the Dead Sea.

“Our Citroën C4 WRC was very competitive and I was feeling particularly comfortable.” Indeed, a sequence of three consecutive fastest times took the defending World Champions to the top of the leaderboard and they were already beginning to pull clear of their chasers. Seb takes up the story again: “The road section between the end of SS11 and the start of the following test was very narrow and there were lots of places where we couldn’t see much of the road. Coming out of one such corner, we were unable to avoid running into another competitor coming in the opposite direction. It really is an enormous shame: we were in a good position with regard to both championships, but this is only the fifth round of the season and such a lot that can still happen…”

“I think we’ve seen it all since the beginning of the year,” reflected Olivier Quesnel. “Up to the end of SS11, everything was going so smoothly for us. We had both our two cars in first and second places, Sébastien had passed Dani and he was beginning to pull out a gap. He was totally in control of the situation… and then the accident happened. It’s so hard to swallow and we went from a high to a big, big low in a matter of seconds. But that’s motor sport; you’ve just got to accept it.”

“There were many positive aspects to our day, too, though,” continued the Citroën boss. “First of all, the C4 has once again shown that it is a very competitive and reliable car, and Dani and Marc went remarkably well today. They managed to shrug off the pressure from their rivals despite being first on the road this morning. They then dropped a few seconds with a puncture on SS13, but they are still on top tonight. For the final leg, there is still everything to play for, because our opponents seemed to hit problems at the end of the day’s last stage, dropping 20 seconds. I hope that they manage to sort everything out so that the fight can continue, and that Dani and Marc will succeed in staying ahead of them tomorrow…”

“I always knew that being first on the road would be a handicap,” concluded Dani Sordo. “But I think we succeeded in limiting the damage this morning. This afternoon got off to a poor start when we picked up a slow puncture which dropped us time. I kept up a good pace to stay ahead of our rivals. We recovered first place after the final stage when the others, strangely enough, hit problems. We will have to push hard tomorrow because we want to stay in front, and anything is still possible…”

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Citroën’s high-flying C4 WRCs

Saturday, April 26th, 2008

The fiercely fought opening leg of the Jordan Rally, the latest addition to the World Rally Championship calendar, saw Dani Sordo/Marc Martí and their Citroën C4 WRC complete the day on top of the provisional leaderboard, while Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena follow in second place, 1.1s seconds behind their team-mates. In addition to the performance of the two factory C4s, the two cars run by PH Sport with support from Citroën Sport Technologies and the sixth place for Urmo Aava/Kuldar Sikk.

Temperatures in the Jordan Valley and along the shores of the Dead Sea reached as high as 40°C during recce, but today’s action took place in slightly cooler weather, while the leg’s four stages – contested twice each – totalled 115.18km of competitive action, most of which took place beneath sea level.

“With three C4 WRCs inside the top ten, including two in first and second places, we could hardly have wished for a better start to the weekend,” noticed Olivier Quesnel this evening. “Both crews and everyone at Citroën Sport did a perfect job today. Dani and Marc succeeded in taking full advantage of their road order this morning and they then matched the times of the others this afternoon. They deserve to be leading also because it is the first time they occupy the first position of the leaderboard on a gravel event. Sébastien and Daniel had to cope with the opposite scenario: after a difficult start because of all the loose gravel they were forced to sweep aside, they recovered superbly second time through to put us in first and second places tonight.

Even so, we can’t afford to get carried away. Anything can still happen, the gaps are small and the conditions promise to be complex again tomorrow.”

The first leg took place at altitudes of between -410 (SS1) and +700 metres – the latter being the highest part of the route – and Citroën’s two crews took turns in playing the leading role.

Dani Sordo and Marc Martí were the first to show their speed: “We had been hoping that our position on the road would be favourable and it was,” explained Dani. “On this sort of terrain, you just can’t afford to put a wheel off the line swept clean by the other cars. I consequently tried to keep it as clean as possible so as not to find myself in the looser gravel where it was impossible to control the car. That plan worked well for the first three stages but I didn’t feel perfectly at ease on the morning’s final test. There were lots of crests and blind corners and I dropped a little time. As expected, the fight was extremely close this afternoon when the conditions were the same for everyone. I am pleased with my start to the rally but we now have to try and defend our lead tomorrow, and that probably won’t be easy.”

Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena can tell Dani a thing or two about running first on the road because that was the main challenge they faced today, although the roads were much cleaner for the second pass and the defending World Champions were able to push much harder. “During recce, we quickly saw that these stages were like nothing we had ever come across before,” said Seb. “It wasn’t easy to take good notes because everything looks alike and the roads are fast and tricky. I was also aware that I would have the handicap of sweeping aside the loose gravel for the others this morning. I had trouble settling into a good rhythm which affected my driving and I had a couple of scares. We made a few small changes to the set-up of my car for the second loop and that felt much better. On top of that, we didn’t have to clear the top-coating of gravel second time round, so it was easer to use the full potential of our C4. The gaps at the moment don’t really signify much because I am sure it will be another tough day tomorrow.”

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A shortened display for the Citroën C2-R2 MAX

Saturday, April 19th, 2008

Simon Jean-Joseph and Jack Boyère took the start of the Pirelli International Rally in England for their second run of the season in the Citroën C2-R2 MAX. After a promising start to the event, during which the Citroën crew were leading the R2 class and fighting for the overall lead of the two-wheel drive category, an impact with a rock forced their retirement on SS8.

The Pirelli Rally, which took place in the county of Cumbria in northern England, marked the first round of the British Rally Championship. There were two legs in total, featuring 14 special stages. The legendary Kielder Forest served as a backdrop to the 168.98 kilometres of gravel action scheduled.

Some typically British weather awaited the competitors on Friday afternoon as they took the start. The opening leg consisted of just four special stages, acting as a taster for the main action to follow.
Nonetheless, run at night on twisty and muddy roads, those first four stages presented a variety of traps to catch out the unwary. Simon Jean-Joseph sensibly decided to avoid taking any risks. Nonetheless, he picked up a puncture in the middle of SS2, which cost him a handful of seconds. The Citroën got to the end of a difficult evening leading the ‘R2’ class. It was also fighting for the overall two-wheel drive lead with cars from the category above.

On Saturday morning, Simon and Jack started leg two with the firm aim of improving upon their 15th place overall. In the thick of a constantly hectic fight, the Citroën crew hit a rock on SS8 and was forced to retire with a broken radiator.

« The stages at the start of the day weren’t favourable to us, but I thought that we could get a good result through the afternoon loop, » said Simon. « It was extremely frustrating as there was nothing I could do. The stone was just after a jump. I saw it at the last moment – as I landed on it. It was too late and a big impact; I knew straightaway that it was all over. Four other competitors fell into the same trap. It’s infuriating to end up like this when we were in the middle of a fantastic battle, and together with Alexis Avril (responsible for engineering at Citroën Sport’s customer competition programme) we were slowly but surely refining the set-up of the car on a surface that we did not know too well. The Pirelli is an extremely complicated rally with its heavily cambered roads, which are often covered in mud and extremely rough. We were gradually getting to grips with it though and I’m sure we had the chance of a very good overall final placing. It’s just a big disappointment. »

Jean-François Liénéré, in charge of Citroën Sport’s customer division said: « The Citroën C2-R2 MAX has once more underlined its potential, on its first event on gravel. This retirement is very disappointing for everyone. Nonetheless, Simon and Jack still demonstrated that even on the most demanding surfaces, the C2-R2 MAX is capable of punching above its weight. The journalists and drivers set to take part in our promotional operation tomorrow will have the chance to find that out for themselves. »

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The Citroën C4 to compete below sea level

Friday, April 18th, 2008

For the first time in WRC history, the fifth round of the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship takes world class rallying to Jordan where Citroën has entered C4 WRCs for Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Martí. Two privately-entered C4s, run by PH-Sport with the support of technicians from Citroën Sport Technologies, will also make the trip for Conrad Rautenbach/David Senior and Urmo Aava/Kuldar Sikk.

After being a candidate event for some years, the Middle East fixture is one of the main new features of the 2008 calendar. Its compact route, which totals just 983.44km, is in perfect keeping with WRC norms and is divided into three legs, with 11 stages to be contested twice each for a total competitive distance of 359.26km.

The principal singularity of this event, which takes crews to the shores of the Dead Sea and valley of the Jordan River, is that much of it takes place below sea level.

“There are always unknowns whenever you contest a rally for the first time,” says Citroën Sport’s Technical Manager Xavier Mestelan-Pinon. “The last two new events, in Portugal and Ireland, went quite well for us, but I mustn’t forget Norway! Testing is not permitted in Jordan, so we tried to prepare for this rally using the information at hand, which was that the gravel stages are essentially wide smooth and drop to as low as 400 metres below sea level. We can also expect high temperatures and possibly sand storms. Based on all this, we have come up with a basic set-up which we will fine-tune following the observations of our crews after recce.”

“I have rarely turned up for the start of a WRC round with more experience of the event than most of my rivals,” observes Dani Sordo who was in Jordan to recce the 2007 event. “The stages tend to be fast and wide, with a surface that’s as hard as concrete but which shouldn’t cut up too much after the first loop. I think the pace will be quick but we will have to watch out for the top coating of loose gravel which will produce changes in grip. It will be unwise to stray off the ideal line, while going
off isn’t an option because of the deep ditches! We will aim for a podium finish.”

“We don’t know much about the Jordan Rally, so I will be on my guard a little bit,” predicts Sébastien Loeb. “It doesn’t appear to be too tough on the cars, but running first on the road will be a handicap. I am told there are similarities with Mexico, and the C4 WRC was competitive there, so that’s very encouraging. Our objective will be to win with a view to increasing our lead in the Drivers’ championship and enabling Citroën to stay in the fight for top spot in the Manufacturers’ standings. If Daniel and I can pull that off, it will be our 40th WRC win. That’s not something I’m particularly
obsessed about, but it would make a nice, round figure!”

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Goaaaalll… for Loeb, Sordo and Citroën!

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and their Citroën C4 WRC overcame the three days of rain, fog and treacherous conditions that were thrown at them during the 2008 Rally Argentina to end the fiercely fought battle on top spot. The mud didn’t deter the spectators from turning out in their usual high numbers as Dani Sordo and Marc Martí joined their team-mates on the podium in third place. The visit to South America turned out to be highly successful for Citroën-Total, with Sébastien taking control in the Drivers’ championship, while Citroën is now just three points short of the lead in the Manufacturers’ standings.

The final leg of the event was once again marked by wet weather, with fog also making an appearance high in the mountains of the ‘Giulio Cesare’ and ‘El Condor’ tests. These were the only true stages of the day before one last visit to the super-special in Córdoba and the finish ceremony in Villa Carlos Paz.

Just like Diego Maradona in the days when he starred with the N°10 jersey in Argentina’s national soccer squad, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena deftly dribbled round the weekend’s countless pitfalls to put their rivals on the wrong foot as they powered home to victory with their Citroën C4 WRC. During Thursday’s shakedown session, as guest passenger alongside Seb, ‘El Pibe de Oro’ had been able to see at first hand that the defending World Champion is not just strong technically but also that it’s not only with a ball that a top sportsman can juggle!

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