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RallyeNewsletter

2009 Rally Cyprus : WRC Round 7 of 12 : 12th - 14th June

In this issue:
1. Event Preview
3. Other News
4. Team by Team Preview
5. Event statistics
6. Event Schedule
7. Championship Points

1. Event Preview
After three years in Athens, the rally moves 80km west to Loutraki for its new home and the new look route sees the return of some classic Acropolis stages. After Thursday evening's start at the famous Corinth Canal, Friday's action heads north around the Gulf of Corinth to tackle well-known stages near Livadia and Itea, which hosts a brief 15-minute ! service break in the early afternoon.
Saturday's route takes competitors into the Peloponnese region, a traditional Acropolis venue during the 1980s, for all-new stages. Sunday's final leg, the shortest of the rally, heads north and east of Loutraki and includes two passes over the demanding 33.00km Aghii Theodori.
The rally finishes in Loutraki after 17 stages covering 371.02km within a route of 1208.18km. Only one test remains unchanged from 2008.

3. Other News
" Unprecedented live tv for Ypres
" Proton sign up for IRC 2009

4. Team by Team Preview

BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team
http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2

The Ford World Rally Team journeys to the toughest round of the FIA World Rally Championship in Greece this week, intent on building on last month's one-two finish in Italy and extending its excellent record on one of the series' classic fixtures.
#3 : Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "There are so many new stages this year that it's almost like tackling a new rally. I seem to do well on new rallies, so I hope the same is true here. Acropolis is so tough that it's probably the only event in t! he season where a driver must think seriously about protecting the car. It's still flat out all the way, but I must be careful where I brake and give some thought to looking after the tyres."
#4 : Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: "After winning in Sardinia, I want to fight for another win in Greece. But the most important thing is to start steadily, rather than at full attack, and monitor the pace of the others. That's the clever way to do it. It will also be interesting to see what advantage might be gained from road position. I have a good start position on Friday but I won't know until the recce just how much gravel there is on Saturday's new stages."
#19 : Khalid Al Qassimi/Michael Orr: "We endured a huge amount of bad lack in Sardinia and I hope similar conditions in Greece will be kinder to us. It's a great chance to challenge for points because we were actually rallying very well in the same conditions in Sardinia."

Citroen Total World Rally Team
http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1

The Acropolis Rally of Greece kicks off the second half of the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship, and after claiming the first five rounds of the season in their Citroen World Rally Team C4 WRC, Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena will be eager to return to their winning ways on the Greek event's extremely punishing stages. Team-mates Dani Sordo and Marc Marti are also targeting a podium finish.
#1 : Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena:"Our 17-point lead in the championship should incite us to try to control our advantage, but I will be out to win. As we saw in Sardinia, nothing can ever be taken for granted and we can't afford to ease up in any way. I'm expecting it to be a difficult event, especially since our rivals have a habit of going well in Greece."
#2 : Daniel Sordo/Marc ! Marti: "It will an interesting event because there are so many new stages. The Acropolis is a rally I enjoy and I believe I can play a front-running role. We were down on luck last year, but we were competitive, so we will try to be consistent and look after our car as best we can,"

Stobart Ford World Rally Team
http://ford.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=2

Matthew Wilson and Henning Solberg head to Greece next week for the seventh round of the FIA World Rally Championship, the Acropolis Rally, hoping that the gods will be smiling on them as they look to maintain the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team's momentum in the championship.
#5: Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin: "It's almost a totally new route although a couple of the stages will be familiar to some of the drivers from previous years so it's a new challenge for everyone. It&rsq! uo;s going to be another hot rally after the last one in Sardinia but we're prepared for the heat here so it shouldn't be too bad. I think that tyre wear is going to be a big issue. The roads that we know in Greece are very abrasive and we don't know how tough the new sections will be so that adds another challenge to the mix. Acropolis has been quite a good rally for me in the past. I finished sixth last year so I hope that we can build on that this year."
#6 : Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud: "Generally I like rough rallies and the Acropolis is no exception. It is always a big challenge and one of the toughest rallies of the year, but this time I'm really looking forward to it. We made some very positive changes in Sardinia and now I have a really great car; the feeling is better and I'm confident now that we can be on a good pace. We set fast times on the last day in Sardinia even when Seb and Petter were battling. I'm focuse! d now on this rally and I really want to put in a strong performance for the second half of the year."

Citroen Junior Team
http://citroen.rallye-info.com/teams.asp?sid=1

The Citroën Junior Team will run three C4 WRCs on the Acropolis Rally in Greece from 12-14 June, for Conrad Rautenbach / Daniel Barritt, Evgeny Novikov / Dale Moscatt and Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia.
Three weeks after a successful outing in Sardinia, which resulted in a fine fifth place for Evgeny Novikov
and Dale Moscatt, the Citroën Junior Team will once more line up three Citroën C4 WRCs for the start of
the Acropolis Rally in Greece: one of the classic fixtures on the WRC calendar.
#7: Evgeny Novikov/Dale Moscatt: " This year, our aim is simply to learn, whilst at the same time
demonstrating that we are capable of putting in some good performances. In Greece, I want to stick with
the same sort of pace. The rally will once more be an extremely tricky one, with temperatures that are
likely to exceed 50°C in the cockpit. "
#8: Conrad Rautenbach/Daniel Barritt: " We learned a lot in Sardinia, thanks to the very
tricky roads there and the hot temperatures. I think we are well-prepared for Greece now. There are some
new stages planned for this year, which are a bonus for us as we are still just gaining experience. I'm
impatient for the rally to start now, so that we can demonstrate our progress. "
#12: Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia: " The plan is to be as
consistent as possible throughout the rally in order to be sure of making the finish. The conditions in
Greece are likely to be even tougher than they were in Italy. It's going to be a question of staying very
careful and concentrated throughout both the recce and the actual rally. I hope to have something to
show for it all at the end! "

5. Event Statistics
(June 12-14), round 7 of 12
Surface
: gravel
Host town
: Loutraki
Practical information
area is 900 metres from Loutraki on the road from Athens to Corinth. There is a one-hour time-difference between Greece ! (GMT+3) and Continental Europe (GMT+2). When it is 10am in Greece, it is 9am in France. Sunrise on
Day 1 of the rally (Friday June 12) is 6.02am. Sun set is at 8.48pm. The local currency is the Euro.
: Rally HQ and the Media Centre are based at the Club Hotel Casino, Loutraki. The service
driver for Italy and Greece. Steering racks and subframes were sealed before the start of the Rally d'Italia.
One spare gearbox, one spare set of differentials and one spare turbo are permitted per

Tyres
two spare wheels, but the 're-cutting' of tread patterns is not authorised.
: each crew will have 36 Pirelli Scorpion tyres for the event, plus six for shakedown. Competitors may carry

Recce
: Tuesday June 9 and Wednesday June 10 (8.00am until 8.00pm). Two passes per stage.
Shakedown
area.
: Thursday June 11 (8.00am to 12 noon). The 3.10km test stage is situated 6km east of the service
Press conference
: Thursday June 11 (1.30pm), Media Centre.

Route length
: 1,263.20km, including 347.12km divided into 17 stages (9 different).
Event Schedule
Friday 12 June: Day 1 Loutraki - Loutraki
SS1 Harvati 25.00km 08.48
SS2 Thiva 1 23.76km 10.21
SS3 Evangelistria 21.03km 11.44
RSZ Itea (15 mins) 13.34
SS4 Bauxites 23.17km 14.02
SS5 Drossohori 23.68km 14.56
SS6 Thiva 2 23.76km 17.13
Serv A Loutraki (45 mins) 19.13
Finish Loutraki 20.58
Total 140.40km


Saturday 13 June: Day 2 Loutraki - Loutraki
Serv B Loutraki (15 mins) 08.30
SS7 Klenia Mycenae 1 17.25km 09.32
SS8 Ghymno 1 &! nbsp; 26.28km 10.35
SS9 Kefalari 1 24.15km 11.50
Serv C Loutraki (30 mins) 13.33
SS10 Klenia Mycenae 2 17.25km 14.50
SS11 Ghymno 2 26.28km 15.53
SS12 Kefalari 2 24.15km 17.08
Serv D Loutraki (45 mins) 18.33
Finish Loutraki 19.18
Total 135.36km


Sunday 14 June: Day 3 Loutraki - Loutraki
Serv E Loutraki (15 mins) 09.00
SS13 Loutraki 1 8.98km 09.33
SS14 Aghii Theodori 1 33.00km 10.07
SS15 New Pissia 11.30km 10.55
Serv F Loutraki (30 mins) 12.03
SS16 Loutraki 2 8.98km 12.51
SS17 Aghii Theodori 2 33.00km 13.25
Serv G Loutraki (10 mins) 14.18
Finish Casino Loutraki 14.36
Total 95.26km
Rally total 371.02km

7. Championship Points
Full points available here: http://www.rallye-info.com/points.asp