Following the asphalt of Bulgaria, the FIA World Rally Championship gets back to gravel with thelegendary Rally Finland. For the first time this year, Dani Sordo and Marc Marti will drive for theCitroën Junior Team. The team’s second Citroën C4 WRC will be in the hands of Kimi Räikkönenand Kaj Lindström, who are competing in front of their home crowd.
For 60 years now, the 1000 Lakes Rally – which then became the Rally Finland – has been a classicfixture for all the crews. The event is often nicknamed the ‘Jyväskylä Grand Prix’ and it has featured seventimes in the top 10 fastest rallies ever held in the history of the World Rally Championship. The quickestRally Finland took place in 2005, with an average speed of 122.86 kph recorded on the event.
For the eighth round of the season, Citroën Racing has made some adjustments to its team nominations.Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia join the Citroën Total World Rally Team for the first time, while DaniSordo and Marc Marti form part of the Citroën Junior Team as team mates to Kimi Räikkönen and KajLindström. The Spanish crew will also be nominated to score points for the Citroën Junior Team in Japanand Great Britain this year.
“The objective of the Citroën Junior Team is to allow young drivers to perform to the best of their abilitiesat the highest level,” pointed out Team Manager Benoit Nogier. “We have seen this goal being achievedwith Sébastien Ogier and we are very happy for him. His results reflect the hard work that the entire teamhas put in since the start of the season. We hope to be at the same level with Dani, so that he too canshow what he is capable of.”
Dani Sordo, aged 27, is currently sixth in the World Championship standings and has finished on thepodium twice this year, thanks to third place in Portugal and second in Bulgaria. The Spaniard looksupon his new association with the Citroën Junior Team as a fresh opportunity. “I’ll be feeling lesspressure,” he said. “By switching teams, I won’t always have to drive with the fundamental need to scoremanufacturer points for Citroën at the back of my mind. I’m going to concentrate on just doing my ownrally and delivering the best performance possible.”
For the first time in his short World Rally Championship career, Kimi Räikkönen will be starting an eventthat he has already contested last year. In 2009, the 2007 Formula One World Champion showed somehighly impressive pace before unfortunately going off the road.
“We were able to get back up to speed on gravel thanks to a good pre-Finland test,” said Kimi. “Thosetesting kilometres are absolutely vital on a rally like this one. The experience from last year is certainlygoing to help, but there is such a performance gap between a Super 2000 machine and a World RallyCar that it’s almost like driving a different rally. I’m really looking forward to getting started. When I wasin Formula One, I never got the chance to race in front of my home crowd. I know that there are going tobe loads of fans out in service and by the side of the stages. For me, this is a real highlight of theseason!”
Three questions to… Dani Sordo
Does joining the Citroën Junior Team feel a bit like going back to your roots?“I started off on the World Rally Championship driving the Citroën Xsara WRC, when some people fromthe Citroën Junior Team were also there. These were very happy memories, and we had some goodperformances that helped me to secure a factory drive. There is a very nice atmosphere in the team andeverybody is extremely professional. The results speak for themselves. Everything is there to enable us tohave a very good rally.”
Is Finland an event you have been looking forward to this year?“Finland a particularly tricky rally that is very fast, and so local drivers tend to do extremely well there. It’salso a rally that personally I love. The speeds we reach are very exciting for any driver and of course wehave to take a few risks through the trees and over the crests. It’s an absolutely unique event. You needto have very good pace notes, and to drive precisely and decisively.”
What do you expect from this rally with the Citroën Junior Team?“I know that I’m joining a very good team. Now it’s down to me to make the most of it. I’m going to tryand give it my all on this event, as always do. For the past two years I’ve finished fourth, less than 20seconds off the podium, and in 2009 I was only a minute behind the winner. My objective is to show thatI can be competitive while setting some good times and remaining consistent throughout the event.”
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