Rally New Zealand (6-9 May 2010) – Day 1
At the end of the first day of Rally New Zealand, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia occupy thirdplace overall after notching up four fastest stage times. The Citroën Junior Team crew is just 3.9seconds behind the leader at the end of 159 competitive kilometres
The opening day of the Rally New Zealand got underway on Friday morning. The crews left the servicepark in Auckland at 0715 for a route that took them to the extreme north of the country.
From the opening stage (Waipu Gorge), Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia were amongst thefrontrunners thanks to a second-fastest time. In Brooks (SS2) the former Junior World Rally Champion sethis first fastest stage time in the southern hemisphere – and his 13th fastest time of the season. The crewof the number 7 Citroën C4 WRC maintained both their speed and consistency to end the morning insecond overall, just 5.5 seconds behind Dani Sordo.
At remote service in Whangarei, the Frenchman said: “The biggest satisfaction for us at the start of thisrally is the fact that we are right up there. We’ve not needed any time to settle ourselves in. From the firststage we were on the same pace as the leaders and I had a good feeling with the car right from the start.Even starting from fifth on the road, the stages are very slippery: you need to be careful to avoid makingmistakes.”
Sébastien Ogier continued to impress in the afternoon. In Springfield (SS5) he set another fastest timeand took the provisional overall lead. On the second run through Bull and Cassidy, Ogier and Ingrassiaplayed it safe to be sure of finishing the day in a solid third overall.
“The opening day has gone in the best possible way for us,” said the Citroën Junior Team driver. “Asusual, our Citroën C4 WRC worked perfectly and allowed us to perform to the best of our abilities. Weworked hard during the recce to make the most precise notes possible. All this has helped us to setfastest times today and fight with the leaders. There’s still a very long way to go on this rally, but for nowwe are right where we want to be. It’s just a question of carrying on like this!”
Tomorrow the crews will face eight stages comprising 155.62 competitive kilometres. Sébastien Ogierand Julien Ingrassia will start from third on the road. The action gets underway at 0600 from Auckland.
THE RALLY BY NUMBERSSébastien Ogier / Julien IngrassiaSS1: Waipu Gorge (11.09 km) 2nd +2’’4 2nd +2’’4SS2: Brooks 1 (13.60 km) 1st 2nd +0’’5SS3: Bull 1 (32.56 km) 3rd +8’’1 2nd +4’’6SS4: Cassidy 1 (22.20 km) 3rd +0’’9 2nd +5’’5SS5: Springfield (9.87 km) 1st 1stSS6: Brooks 2 (13.60 km) 1sr 1stSS7: Bull 2 (32.56 km) 5th +14’’1 2nd +2’’2SS8: Cassidy 2 (22.20 km) 6th +7’’1 3rd +5’’2SS9: Auckland Domain (1.50 km) 1st 3rd +3’’9
Fastest stage timesDay 1 – SS1: Petter Solberg (Citroën C4) – SS2: Sébastien Ogier (Citroën C4) – SS3 and SS4: DaniSordo (Citroën C4) – SS5 and SS6: Ogier – SS7: Sébastien Loeb (Citroën C4) – SS8: P. Solberg – SS9:Loeb and Ogier.Best performers: Ogier 4 fastest times – Loeb, Sordo and P. Solberg 2.Leaders: SS1 and SS2: P. Solberg – SS3 and SS4: Sordo – SS5 and SS6: Ogier – SS7: Latvala – SS8and 9: P. Solberg.
Classification at end of day one:1. P. Solberg / Mills Citroën C4 1:35’53’’12. Latvala / Anttila Ford Focus +1’’43. Ogier / Ingrassia Citroën C4 +3’’94. Sordo / Marti Citroën C4 +8’’75. Hirvonen / Lehtinen Ford Focus +20’’26. Wilson / Martin Ford Focus +1’09’’77. Loeb / Elena Citroën C4 +1’19’’88. H. Solberg / Minor Ford Focus +1’45’’39. Ketomaa / Stenberg Ford Fiesta +4’18’’010. Pons / Haro Ford Fiesta +4’40’’5...
