Rallye de France–Alsace (30 September – 3 October 2010) – Day 1
With Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia in third followed by Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindströmin seventh, the Citroën Junior Team has shown its competitiveness on the opening day of the Rallyede France–Alsace. The French crew are aiming for a podium while the Finns are brilliantly placedjust behind the top six drivers in the World Rally Championship.
After a rainy but extremely popular ceremonial start at the Place Kléber in Strasbourg yesterday evening,the real action on the Rallye de France–Alsace got underway this morning. The opening day of eightspecial stages took the WRC crews to Colmar and then Mulhouse for 145.86 competitive kilometres tothe south of the region. While the skies stayed clear throughout the morning, overnight rain meant thatthe roads were still damp.
Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia set off from Strasbourg second on the road, and they soon foundstages that were already very dirty after the first car had been through. “There was only Seb (Loeb) infront of us, but the line was already quite muddy,” commented Sébastien at the crowded remote servicehalt in Mulhouse. “You really have to walk a tightrope to keep the car on the right line and maintain agood pace at the same time. I imagine that this will be even more difficult for the cars behind us.”Kaj Lindström, Kimi Räikkönen’s co-driver, drew the same conclusion a few moments later. “I’ve rarelyseen conditions like this,” he said. “Even though we were expecting a very slippery surface, we were reallyskating on mud in the end. It’s not the best way to build up confidence, but it’s certainly a newexperience for Kimi.”
Having claimed second place from the opening stage, Sébastien Ogier first fended off an attack fromPetter Solberg and then went head-to-head with Dani Sordo in the afternoon to end the day on theprovisional podium. “There was mud everywhere…I’ve never driven in conditions like this on asphalt,” hereported. “There was absolutely no grip! I’m happy with our pace although Sébastien (Loeb) is definitelyquicker. We’re going to keep on pushing hard in order to stay on the podium.”
Kimi Räikkönen continued his progress in particularly difficult circumstances. The Finn never loosened hishold on seventh place throughout the day, behind six drivers who were uncatchable, but ahead of all hisusual rivals. “It’s really not easy,” explained Kimi. “Maybe we were too careful in some places but at leastwe were consistent. These kilometres are very important for us to build up experience. Tomorrow we’regoing to continue at this pace and see if we can get closer to the times of the frontrunners.”
Team manager Benoit Nogier concluded: “Sébastien took advantage of a favourable road position to getstuck into the fight at the front. It’s more than satisfactory to see him ahead of Petter Solberg as thisshows that he has made a lot of progress on asphalt. While the conditions worked in favour of Sébastien,they certainly worked against Kimi. He had to drive in conditions that often resembled a rainy rallycrosstrack more than a circuit! But despite these problems, he showed many of his qualities today: above allthe consistency that underlines his progress.”
THE RALLY BY NUMBERSSébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia Kimi Räikkönen / Kaj LindströmSS1: Hohlandsbourg 1 (9.90 km) 2nd +3’’9 2nd +3’’9 7th +19’’5 7th +19’’5SS2: Firstplan 1 (16.58 km) 3rd +3’’4 2nd +7’’3 7th +24’’1 7th +43’’6SS3: Vallée de Munster 1 (22.33 km) 4th +4’’0 3rd +11’’3 7th +31’’7 7th +1’15’’3SS4: Grand Ballon 1 (24.12 km) 3rd +3’’4 2nd +14’’7 7th +44’’6 7th +1’59’’9SS5: Hohlandsbourg 2 (9.90 km) 3rd +1’’8 2nd +13’’2 7th +15’’0 7th +2’11’’6SS6: Firstplan 2 (16.58 km) 3rd +3’’5 2nd +16’’7 7th +21’’1 7th +2’32’’7SS7: Vallée de Munster 2 (22.33 km) 3rd +7’’4 3rd +23’’0 7th +25’’2 7th +2’56’’8SS8: Grand Ballon 2 (24.12 km) 4th +6’’8 3rd +25’’6 7th +34’’8 7th +3’27’’4
Fastest stage timesDay 1 – SS1 to SS4: Loeb (Citroën C4) – SS5: Latvala (Ford Focus) – SS6: Loeb – SS7: Sordo (CitroënC4) – SS8: Latvala.Best performers: Loeb 5 fastest times, Latvala 2 and Sordo 1.Leaders: SS1 to SS8: Loeb.
Classification at the end of day one:1. Loeb / Elena Citroën C4 1:18’27’’82. Sordo / Vallejo Citroën C4 +22’’73. Ogier / Ingrassia Citroën C4 +25’’64. Latvala / Anttila Ford Focus +41’’85. P. Solberg / Patterson Citroën C4 +45’’86. Hirvonen / Lehtinen Ford Focus +1’45’’87. Räikkönen / Lindström Citroën C4 +3’27’’48. Villagra / Curletto Ford Focus +5’34’’69. Wilson / Martin Ford Focus +5’58’’110. Block / Gelsomino Ford Focus +7’01’’4...
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