ADAC RALLY GERMANY – 18-21/08/2011 – DAY 2
Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena have clinched many of theirgreat victories in the Panzerplatte stage, but this time itproved fatal to them. The seven-time world champions suffered a puncture in the last stage on the second day of RallyGermany handing the lead to their team-mates, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia. However, the two Citroën Total World Rally Team DS3 WRCs are still well placed to score a double.
Rally Germany quit the banks of the Moselle region on the second day of the event for the Sarre roads andthe Baumholder military camp. Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier, who were in first and second placeswith a big lead over the third-placed car, were told to continue the race without compromising what could bean important double at this stage of the season. “We asked our crews not to push too hard, which more orless meant freezing the positions,” said Olivier Quesnel, the Citroën Racing Team Principal. “Sébastien Loebleads the drivers’ world championship and is in first place in a rally in which he has never been beaten. Thisdoes not detract from Sébastien Ogier’s performance who showed yesterday that he has made a lot ofprogress on tarmac.”
In the first loop Loeb was quickest in SS9 (Birkenfelder Land), while Ogier set the two best times in SS8(Bosenberg) and 10 (Arena Panzerplatte). Overall, the 7-time world champion managed to retain a lead of4.8s over his team-mate: “I applied team orders and I didn’t go flat out. The endurance and the consistencyof the Michelin tyres enabled us to do all four stages without having to worry about wear. I went straight onat a crossroads in the Panzerplatte where I knew I could take the escape road without damage in case I was abit optimistic about my braking!”
Sébastien Ogier was also happy with his morning: “I think that we were on the limit everywhere,” he said.“It’s only my second outing in a WRC in this event and I have to push to make progress. I had a goodmorning without making any mistakes and I feel I’m improving stage after stage. The gap’s small and it’s aninteresting race.”
After a 30-minute halt in the Trier service park, the Citroën Total World Rally Team crews maintained thesame rhythm in the afternoon. But the rally was turned on its head in SS14 second time through the 35-kmArena Panzerplatte stage. Just after the halfway mark Loeb suffered a puncture on the left-hand front tyre: “Iwasn’t pushing and I don’t really know why I punctured. There was nothing I could do.”
This incident handed Ogier the lead with more than a minute in hand over his team-mate. “There’s no way Ican be happy when a problem hits my team-mate, but I can’t hide the fact that I’m happy to be in front thisevening. What’s just happened is a reminder that a rally is never won until the flag falls. The main thing isthat Citroën is still in a good position to score a double and our aim is to finish the job tomorrow.”
Fastest stage timesDay1 – SS1: Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Fiesta) – SS2: Sébastien Ogier (Citroën DS3) – SS3: Sébastien Loeb(Citroën DS3) – SS4: Ogier – SS5 and 6: Loeb.Day 2 – SS7: Latvala – SS8: Ogier – SS9: Loeb – SS10 and 11 : Ogier – SS12 and 13 : Loeb – SS14:Ogier.Best performers: Loeb and Ogier, 6 fastest times each – Latvala, 2.
Leaders: SS1: Latvala – SS2: Ogier – SS3 to 13: Loeb – SS14: Ogier.Overall classification day 2
1 S. Ogier / J. Ingrassia Citroën DS3 WRC 2h44m 43.2s2 S. Loeb / D. Elena Citroën DS3 WRC +1m 11.3s3 D. Sordo / C. Del Barrio MINI John Cooper Works WRC +2m 10.2s4 M. Hirvonen / J. Lehtinen Ford Fiesta RS WRC +2m 43.3s5 K. Meeke / P. Nagle MINI John Cooper Works WRC +3m 33.2s6 P. Solberg / C. Patterson Citroën DS3 WRC +3m 42.3s7 K. Räikkönen / K. Lindström Citroën DS3 WRC +5m 53.2s8 H. Solberg / I. Minor Ford Fiesta RS WRC +5m 59.4s9 A. Araujo / M. Ramalho MINI John Cooper Works WRC +7m 51.6s10 P. Van Merksteijn / E. Mombaerts Citroën DS3 WRC +8m 25.9s
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