Since the start of the season the Citroën DS3 WRCs have won all four rallies run on gravel. Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, victorious in Mexico and Italy, and Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, winners in Portugal and Jordan, have shared Citroën’s successes. The Citroën Total World RallyTeam’s aim is to continue this winning streak in Argentina, an event in which the French make has always excelled.
Rally Argentina is the first of two events run in the southern hemisphere. It has a special place in the WRC ingeneral, and in Citroën Racing’s heart in particular. Since 2004, first of all with Carlos Sainz and then withSébastien Loeb, the French outfit has never been beaten in the Cordoba region In 2011, the team hasentered the Citroën DS3 WRC with a single ambition – continue this winning streak!
The return of Rally Argentina to the WRC calendar after a year’s absence has led to a few innovations on theroute. Villa Carlos Paz is still the nerve centre of the event and the entrants will rediscover the famousTraslasierra, Punilla and Calamuchita valleys. On the other hand, a new super special has been laid out inVilla Carlos Paz. It will be the theatre of the start, which will be given on Thursday afternoon. In addition,long asphalt sections will be scattered along the mainly gravel route.
“A test session was held this week to validate the behaviour of the car on asphalt,” explains Sébastien Loeb.With a twenty-kilometer section on Friday and another of fourteen kilometers on Saturday to be coveredtwice, almost 20% of the rally will be on tar macadam. “As the asphalt sections are in the very heart of thegravel sectors, we can’t play on the setups. We’ll have to adapt our driving style to get the best out of them.And the crucial factor will be good tyre wear management.”
Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena lead the overall general drivers’ classification and they’re aiming for anothervictory in Argentina: “Our results are the fruit of the whole team’s work. It’s a good sign to see that theCitroën DS3 WRCs seem to have a slight advantage on gravel, but the gaps are tiny at the end of each rally.We’ll have to be quick right from the start, and go pedal to the metal till the end as with a stage of 48kilometers to start the last day, there’s no question of letting up.”
Sébastien Ogier’s only outing in Argentina was in 2009 so he has limited experience in this rally: “We’recoming here with much greater ambitions than two years ago. The route’s fantastic and very varied. You haveto have very accurate notes as certain passages are very narrow with big stones on the edge of the line likeMina Clavero and El Condor. Others are more sandy but bumpy as always.
“Of course, we’re aiming for the best possible result,” Ogier, who is currently lying third in the championshipchase, adds. “We’re going try and score good points and close the gap to the leaders.”As a prelude to the rally and to greet their Argentinean fans, the Citroën Racing crews will go to BuenosAires on Saturday 21st May to put on an exceptional show with the DS3 WRC around the obelisk on thePlace de la République.
Three questions to Sébastien Loeb
Looking back on the first five rallies of the season, the score card reads two victories and the lead in the world championship so everything seems to be going pretty well…
“This season will be hotly contested right till the very end. All therallies are very closely fought. In Sardinia, we won by around tenseconds from Mikko Hirvonen. The gap between Sébastien Ogierand Jari-Matti Latvala in Jordan was only two-tenths of a second! It’shard to predict how things are going to pan out in the comingmonths. It’s good to be in the lead, but it’s early days yet. There aremany victory contenders. But I have to say I don’t think about thisvery much when I’m behind the steering wheel, I just try to do mybest.”
After your performance .in Rally Italy, do you think that sweeping is still as important as ever this year?
“Maybe be the gaps are not as big at the same speeds. I think I was abit lucky in Sardinia. The first day was very handicapping, and then Iwas quicker than my rivals in the second leg. It went off much betterthan we expected before the start. But you’re still penalized by thisphenomenon when you’re first out on the road. If you have thechoice it’s better to start behind.”
You’ve won the last five Argentinean rallies. Is it one of the events on the calendar you particularly look forward to?
“It’s got an ambience unlike any other. The Argentinean spectators are mad about rallying. They’re verywarm, very demonstrative and really participate in the event. There are people everywhere, from the hotel tothe summits of the stages. We’ve got a good record in this rally, which I can’t really explain. The route’s veryvaried. Some stages alternate technical portions and quicker ones. Maybe I’ve just been a bit moresuccessful than my rivals over the past few years. For sure, I feel good here!”
