Jordan Rally (1–3 April 2010)
After returning from Scandinavia and Central America, the Citroën Junior Team now heads to theMiddle East for the Jordan Rally, round three of the 2010 World Rally Championship. SébastienOgier/Julien Ingrassia and Kimi Räikkönen/Kaj Lindström will be at the wheel of the two CitroënC4 WRCs, and their objective will be to gain as much experience as possible on a distinctly unusualevent.
On Rally Mexico the Citroën C4 WRCs had to compete at an altitude of 2800 metres: now they dropdown to stages that are 400 metres below sea level – the lowest point in the world – on the Jordan Rally.The rally, round three of this year’s World Championship, is based on the Red Sea coast and maintainsthe same general characteristics as it did in 2008, featuring a compact itinerary within a 75-kilometreradius of the service park. The rally will take place over three legs on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Justone stage is new (Rumman Forest) while three others are reversed (Wadi Shueib, Yakrut et Bahath)compared to last time. The surface, consisting of hard but flowing gravel, offers a good level of grip.Sébastien Ogier took part in the Jordan Rally back in 2008 with a Citroën C2 Super 1600, winning theJunior WRC category. “The organisers have come up with a really nice route, which takes in fast andflowing stages,” he said. “The surface is hard and gives us good grip. All the landscape in the middle ofthe desert looks very similar, which is why having good pace notes becomes even more important than itis on other events. Myself and my co-driver Julien will certainly have to pay a lot of attention during therecce.”
Sébastien Ogier is third in the World Rally Championship standings with two rounds gone, havingfinished on the podium in Mexico. His objective in Jordan will be to maintain the same excellent resultsthat he has achieved since the season started. “We knew that we could take nothing for granted and thatwe had to continue to work hard in order to make more progress,” he added. “Jordan is going to be adifficult rally as the characteristics of the stages are quite unusual. But we were able to get a good feelingwith the car during some tests before heading off to the recce in Jordan. Our objectives remain the same.It’s important not to let anything go to my head and to continue gaining confidence.”
Following on from their first gravel rally with the C4 WRC in Mexico, Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindströmcontinued getting to grips with the car at a test session in the south of France. “I’m learning more withevery kilometre,” said Räikkönen. “But what I need most is more experience, and these test kilometresare allowing me to go through the wide range of set-up options that the team has come up with.”
The 2007 Formula 1 World Champion is aiming firmly to get to the finish of the Jordan Rally. “I’m stilllacking kilometres in rally conditions,” he concluded. “On an event that is as specialised as this one, it’svital to cover all the stages. I still need to get used to the Citroën C4 WRC on gravel and find a way ofdriving that suits my style. We’re going to see what the gap is between myself and the frontrunners at thestart of the rally and then just try to reduce it bit by bit.”
Three questions to… Sébastien OgierOne of your objectives this year was to fight for podium places – and you’ve already achieved thaton the second round in Mexico. Were you surprised by this performance?“In 2010, we wanted to regularly aim for the top five and maybe fight for podiums on the events that wealready knew a bit. So third place in Mexico, an event that we have got past experience of, is an excellentresult. Things are still not perfect and we need to keep on working hard, but our results at the start of theseason have been very encouraging. There’s no reason for us to change our driving style. I’ve got moreand more confidence with the Citroën C4 WRC thanks to the experience we have built up over the courseof all the rallies so far.”As was the case in Mexico, you have already participated in Jordan once before with a C2 Super1600. Does that give you an advantage?“I don’t think that having taken part in the rally just once before with a C2 Super 1600 is really adetermining advantage. But let’s just say that our lack of experience compared to the other drivers will beless obvious, as they have only taken part in the event once with a WRC car. In any case we will be takingfresh pace notes from scratch, as myself and Julien’s system of notes has evolved considerably sincethen.”What’s your objective going to be in Jordan?“We’re not going to change anything in the way we approach every rally. The plan is to gain experience onall types of different terrain. The ideal would be to fight for a podium but a top five result would be verysatisfactory as well. It’s important to make progress step by step. Jordan has some very specificcharacteristics. In 2008, it was very hot. The route is extremely challenging, and you need excellent pacenotes. For all these reasons, the key thing is to take away as much experience as possible.”
Jordan Rally (round 3/13) (1-3 April)Surface: gravelWhere: Jerash
Practical information: The service park, along with Rally HQ and the media centre, is located on thecoast of the Dead Sea. There is a one-hour time difference between Jordan (GMT +2) and central Europe(GMT + 1). So when it is 1200 at the Dead Sea, it is 1100 in Paris. On the first day of the rally,Thursday 1 April, the sun will rise at 0625 and set at 1856. In April, the temperature in Jordan variesbetween 10°C and 21°C with dry weather. The local currency is the Jordanian Dinar (JOD). 1 € = 0.96JOD.Technical: The engines to be used in Jordan have already been used in Sweden and Mexico.Spare parts (gearboxes, sets of differentials, front and rear subframes, steering racks and turbos)will be shared with the Rally of Turkey.
Tyres: Each crew will have 36 hard compound Pirelli Scorpion WRC tyres at their disposal for the rally,including six for the shakedown.
Reconnaissance: This will take place on Monday 29 March between 0700 -1900 and Tuesday 30March between 0700-1900, with two passes over each special stage. The maximum speed permitted is80kph unless local signage indicates a lower limit.Shakedown: Wednesday 31 March between 0800-1200, on a 2.3-kilometre special stage located 7.5kilometres from the service park.Start: Thursday 1 April at Jerash from 1100.Route: Total length of 886.78 kilometres, of which 346.16 kilometres are competitive. There are 21special stages (11 different stages).
Timing: Day 1 – Thursday 1 April: 292.42 km of which 95.70 km are competitive (7 SS, 4 differentstages). Start: 1100 – SS1: Rumman Forest (15.34 km) – SS2: Wadi Shueib 1 (8.65 km) – SS3:Mahes 1 (20.44 km) – SS4: Mount Nebo 1 (11.09 km) – Service A (1432 / 30 min) – SS5: WadiShueib 2 (8.65 km) – SS6: Mahes 2 (20.44 km) – SS7: Mount Nebo 2 (11.09 km) – Service B (1734 /45 min) – Last car into parc fermé at 2130.
Day 2 - Friday 2 April: 331.24 km of which 141.76 km are competitive (6 SS, 3 different stages).Start: 0800 – Service C (0800 / 15 min) – SS8: Suwayma 1 (12.23 km) – SS9: Kafrain 1 (17.20 km) –SS10: Jordan River 1 (41.45 km) – Service D (1154 / 30 min) – SS11: Suwayma 2 (12,23 km) –SS12: Kafrain 2 (17.20 km) – SS13: Jordan River 2 (41.45 km) – Service E (1546 / 45 min) – Last carinto parc fermé at 2000.
Day 3 – Saturday 3 April: 263.12 km of which 108.70 km are competitive (8 SS, 4 different stages).Start: 0730 – Service F (0730 / 15 min) – SS14: Yakrut 1 (14.16 km) – SS15: Bahath 1 (12.53 km) –SS16: Shuna 1 (15.23 km) – SS17: Baptism Site 1 (12.43 km) – Service G (1106 / 30 min) – SS18:Yakrut 2 (14.16 km) – SS19: Bahath 2 (12.53 km) – SS20: Shuna 2 (15.23 km) – SS21: Baptism Site2 (12.43 km) – Service H (1440 / 10 min) – Finish at 1450.Final podium: Saturday 4 April from 1530.
The crews before this rally:Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia: First WRC rally: Mexico 08 (C2 S1600 / 8th, 1st JWRC) – WRCrallies: 22 – Junior World Rally Champions: 2008 (C2 S1600).Kimi Räikkönen: First WRC rally: Finland 09 (ret.) – WRC rallies: 3.Kaj Lindström: First WRC rally: Finland 96 (ret.) – WRC rallies: 64 – 1 win.The crews before the start of the Jordan Rally:Sébastien Ogier, Julien Ingrassia: 2nd participation: 2008 (Citroën C2 Super 1600 / 11th, JWRCwinners)
Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström: 1st participation
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