Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson, who were the best performers at the end of the Rally of Portugal, led the group of three Citroën DS3 WRCs that were entered by private teams and run with the back-up of Citroën Racing Technologies. They finished sixth, one place ahead of Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström in seventh. On their first appearance of the season, Peter van Merksteijn Jr and Eddy Chevaillier reached the finish.
Petter Solberg was extremely competitive from the very beginning, but lost all chance of winning at the end of the opening day. A double puncture on the front wheels meant that he was forced to retire from the opening day. The former World Champion re-started the following morning at an impressive pace, setting six fastest stage times and earning himself the title of best performer. By the finish he managed to climb back to sixth and score eight points in the World Rally Championship for drivers.
On his second Rally of Portugal, and his first appearance on gravel this year, Kimi Räikkönen drove aconsistent rally from start to finish, steering clear of mistakes. He finished in seventh overall.Peter van Merksteijn Jr made his Citroën DS3 WRC debut in Portugal. On his return to competition, theDutch driver concentrated on getting to know his new car. Only a small engine problem after crossing awatersplash on the second day prevented him from driving all the stages. After rejoining the action onSunday, he eventually finished in 22nd place.
Petter Solberg (Petter Solberg World Rally Team): « I’m disappointed not to have been able to fight forvictory. After our punctures on Sunday, we needed to attack in order to get sixth place on the very last stage.These are very important points, but I’m aiming for better results. I promise that I’m never giving upthough! »
Kimi Räikkönen (Ice1Racing): « Apart from a puncture on Friday afternoon and a bit of time lost in the dust ofanother competitor yesterday, we had a rally with no problems. We learnt a lot about the Citroën DS3 WRCon our first gravel rally with this new car. As the stages went on, we made progress with the set-up and I thinkmy driving has improved as well throughout the three days. It’s been a valuable less and I hope to pick up mypace on the next rally. »
Peter van Merksteijn Junior (Van Merksteijn Motorsport): « I can draw a very positive conclusion from my firstexperience with the Citroën DS3 WRC even though I think I was a bit unlucky. We had a small problem onthe second day that deprived us of important kilometres as we were learning the car. The objective of thisrally was to get to know the car. I’m sure I can go quicker, but that will just come with experience. »
Benoit Nogier (Head of Citroën Racing Technologies): « Petter Solberg once more showed hiscompetitiveness by fighting with the factory cars in his privately-run Citroën DS3 WRC. Again, it was sheerbad luck that prevented him from recording a better result. Here, that was down to the tyres. We hope thatthis is at least now an end to his bad luck and that he will go on to achieve success on the next events. KimiRäikkönen drove a consistent rally. He already showed his reliability in Sweden and he continued that patternhere. Having found a better set-up at the end of the first day, he made a lot of progress. That’s veryencouraging for the future. Finally, we had a technical problem with Peter van Merksteijn Jr’s car, which costhim valuable kilometres. He showed a very good frame of mind and is already at the level of the other driverswho are learning their cars. We’ll keep making steady progress with him, step by step, as the season goeson. »
By numbers…Fastest stage timesDay 1 – SS1: Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Fiesta) – SS2: Petter Solberg (Citroën DS3) – SS3: Sébastien Loeb andSébastien Ogier (Citroën DS3) – SS4: Ogier – SS5: Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Fiesta) – SS6 and SS7:Latvala.Day 2 – SS8: Loeb – SS9: P. Solberg – SS10 and 11: Ogier – SS12 and SS13: P. Solberg.Day 3 – SS14: Hirvonen – SS15 and 16: P. Solberg –SS17: Loeb.Best performers: P. Solberg 6 fastest times, Ogier 5, Loeb and Latvala 3, Hirvonen 2.Leaders: SS1: Hirvonen – SS2: P. Solberg – SS3 to SS6: Ogier – SS7 to SS9: Latvala – SS10 to SS17(finish): Ogier.
Provisional final classification1 S. Ogier / J. Ingrassia Citroën DS3 WRC 4:10:53.42 S. Loeb / D. Elena Citroën DS3 WRC +31.83 J. Latvala / M. Anttila Ford Fiesta RS WRC +3:22.14 M. Hirvonen / J. Lehtinen Ford Fiesta RS WRC +6:16.35 M. Wilson / S. Martin Ford Fiesta RS WRC +7:48.56 P. Solberg / C. Patterson Citroën DS3 WRC +10:17.47 K. Räikkonen / K. Lindström Citroën DS3 WRC +10:54.18 F. Villagra / J. Perez Companc Ford Fiesta RS WRC +11:38.89 H. Solberg / I. Minor Ford Fiesta RS WRC +14:16.410 D. Kuipers / F. Miclotte Ford Fiesta RS WRC +17:54.622 P. Van Merksteijn / E. Chevaillier Citroën DS3 WRC +39:39.6
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