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31st Rally 1000 Miglia (19-21 April 2007)

Photo: Citroën Communication

At the end of leg one of the 31st Rally 1000 Miglia, Simon Jean-Joseph, his co-driver Jack Boyere, and their Citroën C2 S1600 are classified second in the Super 1600 category. At the same time, they are also third amongst the European Championship runners.

The 1000 Miglia Rally – which runs to the north of the Italian town of Brescia – is the first round of the 2007 European Championship. The first leg consisted of a spectator superspecial, which took place last night, followed by two identical loops of four stages today. The rally route ran close to Lake Garda, characterised by mountain roads that were wide with several hairpin bends going uphill, followed by tricky and narrow descents.

Simon Jean-Joseph was satisfied with his morning’s work when he got back to midday service at Montichiari after the first loop of stages. « We drove quite carefully on the superspecial yesterday as there was a lot more to lose than there was to gain » he said. « I only really got to know my Citroën C2 Super 1600 in proper rally conditions on this morning’s stages. On the whole, our progress was good. We didn’t make any mistakes and the car worked well. But the roads were very slippery, which didn’t make it any easier for me to get to know the Citroën C2. »

The PH-Sport team made a few adjustments to the car at midday service, following discussions between Simon Jean-Joseph and Alexis Avril – chief engineer for the customer division of Citroën Sport. « I’m slowly beginning to understand which set-ups suit me best » said Simon. «But I knew it wouldn’t be easy to learn on this rally. Under normal circumstances on these roads it would be dificult to compete with the four-wheel drive cars anyway, and all the more so on this rally as the territory doesn’t really suit us. However it was very encouraging to be the top Super 1600 crew, and also first of the European Championship runners. We mustn’t lose sight of our main objective, so we need to try and hang onto this result to maximise our championship chances. »

The second loop of stages started off badly for the Citroën crew. A puncture six kilometres from the end of SS6 cost Simon and Jack more than a minute. Nonetheless, the 2004 European Champion was determined to fight back. « I had no choice but to up the pace » commented Simon. « Currently, we’re 46 seconds off the European Championship leader and just 15 seconds off the top Super 1600 runner. Everything’s still possible tomorrow. I think the second leg will be a lively one for us ! »

Yves Matton, Citroën Sport’s customer competition manager, drew a positive conclusion : « Simon Jean-Joseph has made an excellent start to the rally. He’s got to grips with the Citroën C2 S1600 quickly, and that allowed him to lead both the Super 1600 category and the European Championship classification. After being delayed by a puncture, he’s in the thick of the chase behind his rivals. Tomorrow, he should be able to take advantage of the 152 kilometres of stages to regain the places he lost and improve his overall position. »