inforally.eu

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…”

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.”

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!”

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!

The final day of the 2008 World Rally Championship saw Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and Citroën collect their third consecutive Rally Mexico win. Their hat-trick in the land of sombreros takes them to within a single point of the provisional Drivers’ championship leader, while Citroën has made up a little of its deficit in the Manufacturers’ classification.
“The last day featured a little more than 60km of competitive action divided into three stages, plus a final attempt at the super-special in León,” commented Sébastien Loeb. “Despite our overnight lead, we approached today’s leg cautiously because of the risks inherent in being first on the road, like having to sweep a clear line, punctures, etc.”

Despite their apprehension, the World Champions came through the day unscathed and the cancellation of the day’s longest test (SS18) for safety reasons didn’t upset them unduly. Today’s result marks the 38th world class win for Sébastien and Daniel who were given a heroes’ welcome by everyone at Citroën Sport on their return to the Poliforum service park.

Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and their Citroën C4 WRC completed Day 2 of the 2008 Rally Mexico on top of the provisional leaderboard.
With a total of 157.32 kilometres of competitive action to cover, the second leg was the longest of the weekend and featured two loops of three stages – all more than 20km in length – before concluding with two visits to the super-special in León this evening.

The arid sierra, twisty dirt roads and cacti provided a fitting backdrop for this modern-day western which saw Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena star as steady-handed pistoleros. Their mission today was to make up the 9.6-second gap that separated them from the overnight leaders and the Citroën crew profited from the form of their C4 WRC to take control by midmorning.