AUSTRALIA PROVIDES CITROEN WITH ITS TOUGHEST WORLDWIDE CHALLENGE
In a world championship renowned for its wildly changing conditions, from snow to hot tarmac, via dirt, gravel and mud, it has taken Australia to provide the toughest challenge for Citroen, the most successful team in World Rally Championship, with the WRC Rally of Australia at the weekend (9-11 September 2011) seeing both Citroens crash out on the first full day and spend the rest of the event battling back into contention for points.
The 2011 WRC Rally of Australia took place in and around the New South Wales town of Coffs Harbour, a venue never previously used by the WRC although they have been to Western Australia and northern New South Wales. This meant the teams and drivers had no experience of the conditions and what affect the weather has on local road surfaces.
Just after cars left the start podium it started to rain making road conditions more slippery, said Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen, than driving on ice back in Scandinavia. It was made worse by the hard compound tyres on which the cars were running.
First Citroen driver to exit was Sébastien Loeb.
“It happened in the middle of the stage. I lost concentration for a second by glancing at the split time which had just appeared on Daniel’s screen. I didn’t interpret the note very well and I braked too late in the mud for the next corner. The car rolled four times and it was too badly damaged for us to restart immediately.”
Stage victory went to Petter Solberg and Sébastien Ogier, who was third quickest, took the lead:
“The rain made the roads very slippery and the hard tyres imposed by the regs were completely ill-adapted to the conditions so it was easy to get caught out. I tried to get to grips with the roads without taking major risks.”
Next to leave the event was his team mate, Sébastien Ogier, caught out by the conditions on stage six.
“We skidded on a portion where there was absolutely no grip. We hit a bank and our race ended against a tree. As the radiator was holed we had to stop so as not to damage the engine.”
Using the SuperRally rules that allow cars that retire early in the rally to restart after repairs and a marathon session of team mechanics, both Loeb and Ogier were back on the road in their Citroen DS3 WRC rally cars on Day Two, but way down the field.
By the end of the day of dazzling driving Sébastien Ogier fought his way up to eleventh place overall an position that could put him, at least, back in the top ten. Sébastien Loeb was seventeenth having had trouble getting back into the groove after his accident. This meant that the works DS3 WRCs were poised to score precious points in the Manufacturers’ World Championship.
“The mechanics deserve more merit than the drivers this weekend,” underlined Sébastien Loeb. “My car still bears the scars of its four rolls but it’s only cosmetic. They really deserve to be congratulated for their work.”
Sébastien Ogier, who was a racing mechanic before getting behind the wheel of a rally car, also appreciated the job done by the team’s ‘wrenches.’
“Rebuilding two cars in the space of six hours is a real exploit. There was some fairly heavy damage like a twisted sub frame mount on my car that had to be straightened.”
After the opening day in the forests to the west of Coffs Harbour, the crews headed south. The stages of the second day running through fields and meadows were a bit like those in New Zealand.
The Citroën drivers, who knew that their chances of scoring a good finish in the overall classification were slim, were aiming at bagging points in the Manufacturers’ Championship. They used the first pass to check that their cars were handling properly.
“We still have a few setup adjustments to make to the running gear, but overall things are okay,” said Loeb when he came back to the service park.
“We knew that the engine took a hammering yesterday when I drove a few kilometres with the radiator pierced,’” added Ogier. “We’re not sure if it will last till the end but for the moment the car’s running perfectly.”
Ogier proved this by setting a hat trick of fastest times (SS15-17) during the afternoon. Loeb also set the fastest time in SS18.
The final day of Rally Australia of around 100 kms began in warm sunlight. It included two passes through the long Rally Plum Pudding stage. The quick, narrow route lined with big trees in the forests north east of Coffs Harbour provided a new challenge for the drivers.
Like the previous day, Sébastien Ogier and Sébastien Loeb did not take any risks as their main aim was to finish and score the maximum number of points in the Manufacturers’ World Championship. Nonetheless, Loeb found his marks in the Clarence stage and set the quickest time in the sector used at the end of the rally for the Power Stage.
At the end of the first loop, Ogier was in tenth place overall with his team-mate twelfth. After a 30-minute halt in the Coffs Harbour service park, the crews restarted to cover the same three-stage loop.
Taking into account the perfect score by their rivals for the two world championships and in order to maximize the chances of their best-placed driver in the Drivers’ World Championship, Citroën asked Sébastien Ogier to cede his position to Sébastien Loeb in the second-last stage. This decision had little bearing on the Manufacturers’ World Championship placing as the two Citroën Total World Rally Team crews scored the points for sixth and seventh positions.
Rally Australia finished with the Power Stage in which the first three are awarded bonus points. Loeb achieved his aim and set the fasted time adding three points to his tally. Thanks to the four he scored this weekend he still has a 15-point lead over Mikko Hirvonen before Rally France:
“After our off on Friday we had to do everything to lose as few points as possible. In addition to finishing the rally to score points in the manufacturers’ title chase, I set myself a personal aim of winning the Power Stage,” said Seb. “Again I’d like to thank the technical team which enabled us to rejoin the race with a competitive DS3 WRC, which was the same case for my team-mate. We’ve managed to limit the damage and our aim is to get back on the winning trail in France!”
In the Manufacturers’ World Championship the Citroën Total World Rally Team has a comfortable lead of 62 points.
For further information:
Citroen Australia Media Web Site:
Miles Williams
/ Tel: (02) 8577 8020General Manager / Fax: (02) 8577 3555
CitroenAustralia / Mob: 0419 800 520
E-Mail:
Edward Rowe
/ Tel: (02) 8677 8015Public Relations Manager / Fax: (02) 8577 3555
CitroenAustralia / Mob: 0407 913 244
E-Mail:
Citroen Australia
Street Address: 862 – 874 Elizabeth Street, Waterloo, Sydney, NSW 2017Australia.
Postal Address: Ateco Automotive Pty Ltd,Pty Ltd,Locked Bag 5018, Alexandria NSW 2015, Australia
Telephone: 02 8577 8000; Direct Telephone 02 8577 8015 Fax: 02 8577 3555. Mobile +61 0407 913 244
A.B.N. 34 000 486 706
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EJR/ejr/1091
9/12/2011