Citroën Total World Rally Team driver Dani Sordo heads the field after the opening day of competition in Rally de España, the penultimate round of the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship. Team-mate Sébastien Loeb is just 1.6 seconds adrift in second with Championship leader Mikko Hirvonen third for the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team.
Based in the resort of Salou, south of Barcelona, Rally de España is the second of the season’s asphalt rallies. The fast and flowing roads are comparable to a race circuit and, although largely smooth, can quickly become slippery as drivers cut corners and drag stones and soil onto the road. Today, weather conditions were hot and dry for the first day covering two loops of three identical stages over 131.76 competitive kilometres.
Sordo took command from the outset, the local hero winning the first three stages to claim a 4.8 second advantage by the lunchtime service. The Spaniard maintained the pace in the first of the afternoon stages, despite a small brake problem, but lost out to team-mate Loeb in the final two stages. The Frenchman suffered with understeer in the first stage this morning, but set-up changes solved the problem and Loeb has been hot on Sordo’s heels throughout the day. With their one-two positions, and a healthy gap to Hirvonen, Citroën is currently well placed to realise its ambition of the Manufacturers’ title.
Third placed Hirvonen suffered with some understeer this morning. The Finn has been pushing the Citroën drivers hard, but has struggled to match the pace and is now 34.2 seconds off the lead. Behind him, Petter Solberg – driving a Citroën C4 for the first time – is fourth and gaining confidence stage by stage. He has maintained position throughout the day and is 25.5 seconds adrift of Hirvonen. Sébastien Ogier has had brake and tyre problems but holds fifth ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala, the duo split by 13.8 seconds. Evgeny Novikov spun in the first stage and the Russian is conscious he needs more experience on asphalt to show his desired pace. Matthew Wilson rounds off the top eight. He too had a brake problem this morning.
Rally de España - Results after Day 1
1. Dani Sordo/Marc Marti2. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena3. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen4. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills5. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia6. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila7. Evgeny Novikov/Stephane Prevot8. Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin Citroën C4 WRC
competition in third - only one place shy of his goal for the rally, but a distant 32.6 seconds adrift. Hirvonen said: "It looked like we had good speed on the first stage, when it was a bit damp, but when the conditions dried out they just got away. I pushed as hard as I could but I couldn’t match their speed. I wasn't 100 per cent happy in the morning and although things were better this afternoon, we're not there yet. I really want to get second place here, though. If I could do that this weekend, another second in GB would be enough for the title."
Citroen privateer Petter Solberg ended the day fourth, 25.5 seconds behind Hirvonen, after a trouble-free and increasingly rapid day at the wheel of his new C4 World Rally Car. "We lost a little time on the first stage this morning, but we're been very close to the guys ahead for the rest of the day so I'm very happy," said the Norwegian. "This evening I’ll look though the data and see where I'm losing time, where I can brake later and stay on the throttle longer. It’s a bit like going back to school - I've got some learning to do."
