Rally New Zealand (7-9 May 2010) – Day 1
With five leadership changes, the first day of Rally New Zealand has been a very exciting one. DaniSordo and Marc Marti, who led after the first loop, are lying fourth this evening just a few secondsbehind the leaders. Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, who lost over a minute following a slight off,are in seventh place overall.
The first stage of Rally New Zealand in the north of Auckland was the longest in terms of timedkilometers. The two loops of four stages were broken up by a service halt of fifteen minutes in the town ofWhangarei. The day ended with the super special laid out in the Auckland Domain park.Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena were the first out on the road this morning and had their worst fearsconfirmed after a few kilometres. The six-time world champions had to sweep off the layer of dust for theirrivals and they lost precious seconds.
In SS4 (Cassidy 1), the crew in the no. 1 C4 WRC had a slight off that had serious consequences. “I gotcaught out under braking before a very tight right-hander. The corner was followed by a bridge and we hitit on my side at door level,” explained Seb in the service park at midday. “The car didn’t suffer anydamage but we lost over a minute trying to close the door. The race looks much more difficult now. Ithink we can count out victory, but we’re going to try and get as far up the overall classification aspossible.”
At this stage of the rally, the other Citroën Total World Rally Team crew was in first place. Dani Sordoand Marc Marti made a cautious start in the first two stages and then went pedal to the metal setting thequickest times in the next two long specials, Bull and Cassidy. “I didn’t manage to find the right rhythmin the two shorter stages,” smiled Sordo. “Then we made a few small adjustments to the car’s setup andit all went well in the next two. I knew that I could pull something out of the hat today. For the moment,everything’s perfect!”
In the second loop, Sordo just did what was necessary. The Spaniard was locked in battle with PetterSolberg, Sébastien Ogier and Mikko Hirvonen all afternoon and he ended the day in fourth place beforethe super special. He is only 6.7s behind the leader and he’s feeling very optimistic for the rest of therally. “Tomorrow, our starting order is as good as today. There are still two long loops to go and it’s all aquestion of knowing when to push at the right moment.”
After making sure that his C4 WRC hadn’t been damaged in the morning incident, Loeb pushed hardand set the quickest time in Bull 2 (SS7). The leader of the 2010 world championship is in seventh placeand remains true to his character. “Now that it looks like victory is out of the question, my aim is to scorethe highest number of points possible. We’re not too far off sixth place, but after that it’ll be difficult tomove further up the time sheets under normal circumstances.”
THE RALLY IN FIGURESSébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena Dani Sordo / Marc MartiSS1: Waipu Gorge (11,09km) 4th +3’’5 4th +3’’5 6th +4’’3 6th +4’’3SS2: Brooks 1 (13,60km) 4th +1’’6 5th +3’’6 4th +1’’6 6th +4’’0SS3: Bull 1 (32,56km) 7e +16’’0 6th +15’’6 1st 1stSS4: Cassidy 1 (22,20km) 28th +1’24’’7 8th +1’40’’3 1st 1stSS5: Springfield (9,87km) 2nd +0’’6 8th +1’35’’4 7e +7’’6 3rd +2’’1SS6: Brooks 2 (13,60km) 2nd +0’’3 8th +1’35’’7 5th +2’’5 3rd +4’’6SS7: Bull 2 (32,56km) 1st 7th +1’23’’8 6th +14’’6 4th +7’’3SS8: Cassidy 2 (22,20km) 2nd +1’’4 7th +1’21’’1 3rd +3’’5 4th +6’’7SS9: Auckland Domain (1,50km) 1st 7th +1’19’’8 6th +3’’3 4th +8’’7Fastest times in the stages
Jour 1 – SS1: Petter Solberg (Citroën C4) – SS2: Sébastien Ogier (Citroën C4) – SS3 and 4: Dani Sordo(Citroën C4) – SS5 and 6: Ogier – SS7: Sébastien Loeb (Citroën C4) – SS8: P. Solberg – SS9 : Loeb.Best performers : Ogier 4 fastest times (1 tied) – Sordo and P. Solberg, 2 – Loeb, 2 (1 tied).Leaders: SS1 and 2: P. Solberg – SS3 and 4: Sordo – SS5 and 6: Ogier – SS7: Latvala – SS8 and 9: P.Solberg.
Classification at the end of Day 11. P. Solberg / Mills Citroën C4 1:34’43’’62. 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…
