Rally Bulgaria (9-11 July 2010) – Preview
The second part of the 2010 FIA World Rally Championship gets underway with the RallyBulgaria. On its World Championship debut, the Balkan country hosts the crews in the town ofBorovets, the oldest ski resort in Bulgaria. Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia and Kimi Räikkönen /Kaj Lindström will defend the colours of the Citroën Junior Team on the event.
Of the seven rallies still to come, four will be on asphalt. Two of them will be on known territory inGermany and Spain, while the other two are completely new events in Bulgaria and Alsace. In order toprepare for the second half of the season, with its strong asphalt bias, the Citroën Junior Team has beentesting in France and also took part in the Rally della Lanterna in Italy.
“This has allowed our drivers to stay match fit so that they are in the best possible position heading intothe second half of the season,” explained team manager Benoit Nogier. “We have been working on howto get the best use and performance out of Pirelli’s new tyres. This experience will be very useful for therallies still to come.”
As the roads will be new for all the World Rally Championship competitors, the Citroën Junior Teamcrews will suffer less from their comparative lack of experience relative to the other crews. “It’s the firstasphalt rally of the season,” added Nogier. “It’s not necessarily the surface that we’re going to be themost comfortable on. As has been the case since the start of the year, our objective is simply to take awayas much experience as possible on the forthcoming rallies. That will be our watchword with Sébastien andKimi.”
Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, the winners of the recent Rally of Portugal continued their winningstreak on the Rally della Lanterna. “That was a different type of thing, but it’s all good for theconfidence,” said Ogier, who is currently second in the World Championship standings. “Rally Bulgariawill be new for everyone so we are at less of a disadvantage even though we still lack experience. Fromwhat we know the roads will be fast and quite flowing with a lot vegetation at the side of the stages. A lotof the corners will be hidden so it will be extremely important to have good pace notes.”
Ogier continued: “The second half of the season might not be so easy for us. The goal for this firstasphalt rally will be to make progress and again get closer to the frontrunners, while hoping that we canchallenge for a podium.”
The best result for Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström so far has been fifth in Turkey, and now they get todiscover a new surface. “Now we start a new chapter,” said the former F1 World Champion. “After snowand gravel, here we are on asphalt. It’s something that I’m really looking forward to. I had a really good
feeling during the tests and I hope to be able to show that on the roads in Bulgaria.”
Three questions to… Kimi Räikkönen
How did you get on with the Citroën C4 WRC on asphalt so far?
“I was keen to drive on asphalt since the very start of the season. From the very first few kilometres intesting, I had a really good feeling with the car. That feeling was confirmed when we took part in a rallyin Italy, which I enjoyed hugely. Even if we missed out on victory on the final special stage, we can only bepleased with our performance. The whole team helped us a lot on our asphalt debut. The experience thatwe’ve built up since the start of the season is beginning to pay off.”
Is being on asphalt an advantage for you?
“Even though I’ve spent several seasons in Formula One, the asphalt you find on circuits is not at allcomparable to what we will encounter in rallying. Formula One and rally are two completely differentdisciplines. In the WRC, we will be competing on a number of different asphalt rallies with very diversecharacteristics. You can’t compare the Rally Bulgaria with the Catalunya Rally, or with the roads inGermany or France. In just one stage you can go from wide and flowing roads to narrow or bumpysections. The grip levels change from one corner to another too. It’s also vital to have a good feeling withyour co-driver and the pace notes, as well as being able to make the most of a well-balanced car. ”
What do you expect from the Rally Bulgaria?
“It’s certainly going to be a very different type of playing field, and that is one of the things I like mostabout rallying. The flip side of this is that rallying is a very hard sport for anybody new to it. This firstasphalt rally of the season will be a very important part of my learning process in the WRC. I’ve realisedthat it vital to pick things up as you go along and not try to run before you can walk. My objective is to getto the finish and completely understand my Citroën C4 WRC. We’ll see where we are at the end of thefirst day and then try to close the gap to our rivals.”
Timing: Day 1 – Friday 9 July: 384.82 km of which 118.68 km are competitive (four stages, twodifferent stages). Start: 0900 – SS1: Batak Lake (31.77 km) – SS2: Belmeken Lake (27.57 km) –Service A (1302 / 30 min) – SS3: Batak Lake (31.77 km) – SS4: Belmeken Lake (27.57 km) – ServiceB (1714 / 45 min) – Last car into parc ferme at 2014.
Day 2 – Saturday 10 July: 489.50 km of which 140.90 km are competitive (six stages, three differentstages). Start: 0700 – Service C (0700 / 15 min) – SS5: Sestrimo (27.46 km) – SS6: Peshtera (18.13km) – SS7: Lyubnitsa (24.86 km) – Service D (1224 / 30 min) – SS8: Sestrimo (27.46 km) – SS9:Peshtera (18.13 km) – SS10: Lyubnitsa (24.86 km) – Service E (1733 / 45 min) – Last car into parcfermé at 2033.
Day 3 – Sunday 11 July: 195.24 km of which 94.52 km are competitive (four stages, two differentstages). Start: 0800 – Service F (0800 / 15 min) – SS11: Muhovo (29.53 km) – SS12: Slavovitsa(17.73 km) – Service G (1051 / 30 min) – SS13: Muhovo (29.53 km) – SS14: Slavovitsa (17.73 km) –Service H (1315 / 10 min) – Finish at 1400.Final podium: Sunday 11 July, from 1400.
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