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| 2009 Rally Cyprus : WRC Round 3 of 12 : 13th March - 15th March In this issue: 1. Leg 1 Unofficial Leaderboard 2. Leg 1 News 4. Leg 1 Team by Team News 5. Remaining Event Schedule 6. Subscription Information 1. Unofficial Leaderboard 1. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen C4 1hr 37min 46.3sec 2. D Sordo/M Marti ESP Citroen C4 1hr 38min 28.1sec 3. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 1hr 38min 46.5sec 4. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 1hr 38min 54.6sec 5. P Solberg/P Mills NOR Citroen Xsara 1hr 40min 13.4sec 6. S Ogier/J Ingrassia FRA Citroen C4 1hr 40min 49.6sec 7. E Novikov/D Moscatt RUS Citroen C4 1hr 41min 02.3sec 8. M Wilson/S Martin GBR Ford Focus RS 1hr 42min 12.2sec 9. C Rautenbach/D Barritt ZIM Citroen C4 1hr 42min 21.6sec 10 F Villagra/J Perez Companc ARG Ford Focus RS 1hr 42min 48.3sec 2. Leg News Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Sordo make a Citroen 1-2 after the opening tarmac leg of Rally Cyprus in which the works Ford's have struggled to keep pace. Tomorrow's acction moves to gravel where the C4s will have to sweep the roads, so it could be a different story.... 4. Team by Team News BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team ended today's opening leg of the Cyprus Rally in third and fourth as tyre talk dominated the first mixed surface round in the FIA World Rally Championship since 1996. Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen are third in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car with team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila fourth in a similar car after a long day of competition over the island's twisty asphalt roads. #3 : Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: I got used to the conditions and the tyres but it was harder to find a rhythm on such twisty roads than I thought it would be. Tomorrow's stages are very rocky in places so I'm glad there is only one pass over each test. I hope it doesn't rain tonight. Third in the start order tomorrow in the dry will give me an advantage over the two drivers ahead who will have to sweep the loose gravel clear. If it rains then the advantage will be lost," #4 : Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: "There was more grip on the abrasive sections but the smooth asphalt wasn't so good. It was frustrating to try so hard and still lose time but I didn't lose as much as I feared. I was realistic about how I would perform on asphalt and I'm looking forward to getting onto gravel tomorrow for the first time this season," #19 : Khalid Al Qassimi/Michael Orr: "I realised at lunchtime that I could drive more quickly and I was pleased with my times generally, although conditions were even more slippery in the rain this afternoon. Tomorrow is a whole different rally. It's a different surface, a different set-up and a different way of driving. There is no room to cut corners, the stages are technical and it will be hard for both cars and drivers." Citroen Total World Rally Team http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1 The opening leg of the 2009 Cyprus Rally, which featured six asphalt stages contested with the cars running on gravel tyres, saw the two Citroën Total World Rally Team C4 WRCs get their weekend off to a flying start by claiming every one of the fastest times. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena emerged from the opening day at the top of the leaderboard, with Dani Sordo/Marc Marti following in hot pursuit. The contest is far from over, however, and tomorrow's programme will see the action switch to some particularly challenging gravel stages. #1 : Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "Running first on the road meant that I was able to profit from nice clean lines. I spent the morning trying to make the most of that in order to build up as big a lead as possible before we move on to the loose. OK, we're not going as quickly as we normally would on asphalt, but I have to say that my C4 WRC is quite enjoyable to drive. The important thing was to strike the ideal balance and not slide about too much, but it was fun." #2 : Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti: "The morning went very well. I felt more comfortable on SS2 and SS3 because the tyres gave more and more grip as they started to wear. At the end of the day, though, I didn't find driving in these conditions to be that much fun because you've got to hold back all the time in order to look after your tyres." Stobart VK M-Sport Ford World Rally Team http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2 Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team driver Matthew Wilson is in contention to pick up more points in the FIA World Rally Championship after a solid start to the Cyprus Rally where he is lying in eighth place at the end of day one. But team mate Henning Solberg will be hoping for a better day on Saturday after crashing out of the first day's action before the first stage had even begun. #5 : Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin: "Today was very difficult. It was hard to know how to drive on asphalt with the gravel tyres. It was good to end the day in the points and to be able to concentrate on the gravel stages tomorrow. I've really liked this rally in the past so I hope tomorrow I'll be able to increase my speed. Hopefully there will not be too much rain tonight so that the stages stay the same as they were on the recce. It was frustrating to have an issue with the brakes today and that meant that we lost quite a bit of time. There were a few heavy showers on the last stage but that didn't really affect the grip." Citroen Junior Team http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1 #6 : Henning Solber/Cato Menkerud: "It is really, really disappointing as I had a good feeling coming into the rally. I was driving steadily to the start and a vehicle that had pulled over to the side of the road suddenly changed direction and steered into the path of my car. I tried to repair it but there was too much damage to the cooling system. I hope to get back tomorrow but my hopes of a good result are gone. Now I just have to hope to pick up manufacturer points. My plan tomorrow is to go out and set some good times; my chance of getting good driver points has gone but I would like to set some fast times." No information available at time of writing. Please check site later. 5. Remaing Event Schedule Saturday 14 March: Day 2 Limassol - Limassol Serv C Limassol (15 mins) 07.00 SS7 Anadiou Dam 1 11.70km 08.43 SS8 Pano Panagia 28.17km 09.11 SS9 Orkontas 18.54km 11.19 Serv D Limassol (30 mins) 13.09 SS10 Xyliatos 30.94km 15.17 SS11 Kourdali 26.25km 16.20 Serv E Limassol (45 mins) 18.18 Finish Limassol 19.03 Total 115.60km Sunday 15 March: Day 3 Limassol - Limassol Serv F Limassol (15 mins) 08.00 SS12 Foini 30.03km 09.18 RSZ G Anadiou Dam (15 mins) 10.18 SS13 Anadiou 40.54km 10.49 SS14 Anadiou Dam 2 11.70km 12.02 Serv H Limassol (10 mins) 14.00 Finish Limassol 14.20 Total 82.27km Rally total 332.07km |