Rally New Zealand (6th -9th May 2010)
After Europe, America and Asia the WRC is bound for Australasia for Rally New Zealand.Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, victorious in the last three 2010 rallies, are heading for theAntipodes determined to continue in the same vein. Dani Sordo and Marc Marti, their team-matesin the Citroën Total World Rally Team, are hoping to finally reap the rewards of their efforts with aplace on the podium.
Rally New Zealand has been on the World Championship calendar since 1977, and is one of the classicrallies .The gravel roads are quick and really sort out the men from the boys: the drivers love them, andso do the photographers! The Whaanga Coast stage on a cliff bordering the Tasmanian Sea is consideredby many as the most beautiful spot of the season.
The 2010 event marks a return to Auckland. The service park will be located on the port near thefacilities used for the Americas Cup at the start of the noughties. The route promises a very variedchallenge with three service parks in Whangarei (Friday), Hampton Downs (Saturday) and Raglan(Sunday).
In the last Rally New Zealand in 2008, Sébastien Loeb and Dani Sordo gave the Citroën Total WorldRally Team a double! The five-time world championship team will arrive in the country in the role ofdefender. This status is reinforced by the results of the opening rallies of the season, as after finishingsecond in Sweden, Loeb won the next three rounds in Mexico, Jordan and Turkey, so it’s no surprise tofind him leading the Drivers’ World Championship, while the Citroën Total World Rally Team is in frontin the Manufacturers’ one.
Seb has a 40-point lead over his closest pursuer and he will leave Auckland leading the championship,no matter what the result. “Everything’s gone well for us in the early part of the season,” smiles theCitroën driver. “The fact that our main rivals have shared the runner-up spots has helped us to open up agap in the overall classification. Even if we’ve won the New Zealand Rally on two occasions I’m still beinga bit cautious, as our rivals are usually very strong on this type of surface. Whatever the case, I’m reallylooking forward to racing in this event. The stages are magnificent and fairly easy on the car; it’s one ofthe rallies where you get the most pleasure out of driving. Dani Sordo has had an up-and-down start tothe season with two fourth places and two retirements. The Spaniard has always been on the pace interms of sheer performance, but he hasn’t yet managed to turn this into results. “I hope that Lady Luck’sgoing to smile on me at last and that I’ll be back on the podium,” he states. “We’ve been among thefront-runners in all the events so far; there’s no reason why it should be any different in New Zealand.What we’ve been lacking is just that little bit of success to transform our potential into results for theteam. I’ll devote myself to continuing in the same vein in this event that I really like.”
Three questions to Olivier Quesnel
Rally Turkey was a very exciting event to follow and the pace wasn’t dictated by the usualquestions of strategy. Are you happy about this?
“It’s absolutely true. This rally was run in perfect sporting conditions. I think it’s what the teams, drivers,media and the spectators prefer. Rally Jordan showed the limits of the regulations! Malcolm Wilson, theFord team manager and I concluded a gentleman’s agreement not to have drivers clocking in in advanceso that they would sweep the road. The Stewards of the Meeting of Rally Turkey also made it clear thatany manoeuvres harming the image of the sport would be penalised. All this allowed us to have a greatweekend in terms of sport. We’ll see what happens in New Zealand where the positions on the roadcould be crucial.”
How would you judge the Citroën drivers’ start to the season?
“With 93 points scored out of a possible 100, Sébastien Loeb is true to himself! People often ask him ifhe’s not a bit blasé but I can tell you that he’s as motivated as ever to win his seventh world title on thetrot! Dani Sordo’s results are a bit more irregular. I hope he’s got the monkey off his back for the seasonand that he’ll make his usual contribution to the team. His retirement in Turkey is a perfect illustration ofhis lack of success. All the leading drivers went off in the same spot, but he was the only one whodamaged his car. In each rally we’ve been surprised by Sébastien Ogier’s continually improvingperformances. He just gets on with the job, listens, learns and progresses in each rally. It won’t be longbefore he scores his first victory! I’m also very happy with Kimi Räikkönen’s progress. He’s slotted into theteam very well and he’s had two good races in Jordan and Turkey. That’ll help give him confidence for thesecond part of the season.”
Yesterday, the FIA published the 2011 World Championship calendar. What do you think of it?
“It's a coherent and interesting that includes car markets that are important for Citroën. We’re happy tosee the return of historic rallies like Greece and Argentina and the fact that the French round has beenkept. We’ve also noted the fact that the FIA reserves itself the right to add a fourteenth round to thecalendar, and it would be a nice surprise if it were to happen.”
General Information - Rally New Zealand (round 5/13) (6th – 9th May) Surface: gravelWhere: AucklandPractical info: The service park is on Queens Wharf. The PC and Media Centre are in Skycity Auckland,Corner Victoria and Federal streets. There is a 10-hour time difference between New Zealand (GMT+12)and France. At 12h00 in Auckland, it is 2h00 in Paris. On Friday 7th May, the first day of the rally thesun will rise at 7h05 and will set at 17h29. In May, the temperature varies between 10°C and 20°c withoccasional showers. The local currency is the New-Zealand dollar (1 euro = 1.85 NZD).Technical notes: The engines used in New Zealand have already been used in Sweden and Jordan. Thespare parts (gearboxes, differentials, front and rear cradles, steering racks and turbos) were also used inJordan.Tyres: 36 Pirelli Scorpion WRC hard tyres will be given to each crew including 6 for the shakedown.Reconnaissance: It is scheduled for Tuesday 4th May from 7h30 to 18h00, and on Wednesday 5thMay from 7h30 to 14hj00 and Thursday 6th May from 9h00 to 9h30 with a maximum of 2 runsthrough each stage. Maximum speed allowed is 70 km/h except where signs indicate a lower speed, and30 km/h in the super-special.
Shakedown: Thursday 6th May between 9h30 and 13h00 in Auckland Domain in SS9.Start: Thursday 6th May from Viaduct Harbour at 18h30.Route: 1496,51 kms including 396,50 timed kms, 21 special stages (12 different).
Timing: Day 1 – Friday 7th May: 556,75 kms including 159,18 timed kms (9 SS, 6 different). Start:7h15 – SS1: Waipu Gorge (11,09 kms) – SS2: Brooks 1 (13,60 kms) – SS3: Bull 1 (32,56 kms) –SS4: Cassidy 1 (22,20 kms) – Service A (12h50/15 min) – SS5: Springfield (9,78 kms) – SS6: Brooks2 (13,60 kms) – SS7: Bull 2 (32,56 kms) – SS8: Cassidy 2 (22,20 kms) – SS9: SSS Auckland Domain(1,50 kms) – Service B (19h08/45 min) – Last car in parc fermé at 23h00.
Day 2 – Saturday 8th May: 511,17 kms including 155,62 timed kms (8 SS, 4 different). Start: 6h00: -Service C (6h10/15 min) – SS10: New Franklin 1 (20,82 kms) – SS11: Baker 1 (21,42 kms) – SS12:Te Akau Coast 1 (30,89 kms) – SS13: SSS Hampton Downs 1 (4,68 kms) – Service D (11h56/15 min)SS14: New Franklin 2 (20,82 kms) – SS15: Baker 2 (21,42 kms) – SS16: Te Akau Coast 2 (30,89kms) – SS17: SSS Hampton Downs 2 (4,68 kms) – Service E (17h13/45 min) – Last car in parc ferméat 22h45.
Day 3 – Sunday 9th May: 428,59 kms including 81,70 timed kms (4 SS, 2 different).Start: 6h00 – Service F (6h10/15 min) – SS18: Te Hutewai 1 (11,18 kms) – SS19: Whaanga Coast 1(29,67 kms) – Service G (10h20/15 min) – SS20: Te Hutewai 2 (11,18 kms) – SS21: Whaanga Coast2 (29,67 kms) – Service H (14h20/10 min) – Finish: 15h00.Podium: Sunday 9th May at 15h00.
