Story: Staff Writer
Pictures: Ciroen Press / Newspress
In order to prepare for the second half of the FIA World Rally Championship, which is held largely on asphalt, the Citroen Junior Team entered two C4 WRCs on the Rally della Lanterna – which took place close to Genoa during the weekend.
Kimi Raikkonen and Kaj Lindstrom led for the majority of the rally, with Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia clinching the victory in the final stages. For the first time in its history, the Citroen Junior Team sealed a one-two.
The weather made tyre choice an extremely tricky proposition for both teams. Although a storm had been predicted for the opening stages, Sebastien Ogier chose hard tyres. “We’re not here to win, but instead to test for the four remaining asphalt rounds on the WRC this year,” he explained. “So this is a good opportunity to find out how the tyres behave in unaccustomed conditions.”
Kimi Raikkonen, who is still adjusting to the C4 WRC on asphalt, made a more conservative choice with soft tyres. Although these tyres overheated on SS2, Kimi was leading the rally by the end of SS4 with Sebastien losing nearly 30sec after struggling to find grip on the slippery asphalt.
On the second loop of stages, both C4 WRCs were fitted with soft tyres. Kimi hung onto the lead, while Sebastien climbed up to second; 17sec off his teammate.
The rally went down to the final three stages. On the penultimate stage, a small impact cost Kimi several seconds, and Sebastien closed up to within 2,4sec of him. As has been the case on several occasions recently, there was maximum suspense at the stop control of the final stage. In the end, Ogier claimed victory by 5,7 seconds. “It’s always great to win a rally, but above all I’m pleased to have been able to test a variety of different things on the car,” the Frenchman said. “ I feel much better prepared now for the remaining rounds of the World Rally Championship, starting with the Rally Bulgaria that will be new for everyone.”
Kimi Raikkonen also drew a positive conclusion from this valuable test event. “It was a good experience,” he said. “The car was fun to drive and this day will be very useful to me to get ready for the second part of the season.”
Overall Classification:
01) S. Ogier/J. Ingrassi
Citroen C4 WRC – 01h 32m 16,7s
02) K. Raikkonen/K. Lindstrom
Citroen C4 WRC + 5,7s
03) M. Ferrecchi/F. Florean
Ford Focus WRC + 01m 56,0s
04) L. Pedersoli/M. Romano
Ford Focus WRC + 03m 27,8s
05) V. Bruzzo/S. De Barbieri
Peugeot 206 WRC + 05m 25,8s
06) L. Gulfi/D. Roggerone
Citroen Xsara WRC + 05m 34,4s
07) A. Pissi/L. Constantini
Peugeot 207 S2000 + 06m 10,6s
08) A. Mezzogori/R. Baldini
Renault Clio RS R3 + 07m 03,4s
09) D. Storace/L. Celestini
Renault Clio R3 + 07m 22,8s
10) P. Porro/P. Cargnellutti
Ford Focus WRC + 07m 45,1s
