Defending World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb was the fastest driver at the pre-event shakedown for Rally of Turkey earlier today, with his Citroen team-mate Dani Sordo his closest rival.
The four-hour test took place on a 4.75km stage in Kandilli, 28km east of the main Service Park in Pendik. Weather conditions were dry and sunny throughout with a temperature peaking at 17 degrees Celsius.
Loeb was the first driver to tackle the stage - giving himself a taste of what the conditions will be like on Friday when, as championship leader, he is stage opener. The Frenchman drove the stage four times, setting his best time - 2min 30.8sec - on his final pass.
Underlining the road cleaning effect, Sordo's second-fastest time (2min 31.1sec) also came on his fourth and final run. BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team driver Mikko Hirvonen rounded off the top three times, punching in a 2min 31.7sec run on his fourth attempt.
Kimi Raikkonen's rally got off to an encouraging start. The winner of the 2005 Formula One race in Turkey was joint seventh-fastest on gravel today, setting the same time as factory Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala.
After a ceremonial start in the Istanbul this evening, the opening stage of the rally, the 15.66km Darlik, gets underway at 0903hrs on Friday.
Here are the Shakedown times of the WRC drivers:
1. LOEB. Citroen C4 WRC. 2:30.8
2. SORDO. Citroen C4 WRC. 2:31.1
3. HIRVONEN. Ford Focus RS WRC 09. 2:31.7
4. H.SOLBERG. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 2:32.2
=5. P. SOLBERG. Citroen C4 WRC. 2:32.5
=5. OGIER. Citroen C4 WRC. 2:32.5
=7. RAIKKONEN. Citroen C4 WRC. 2:33.1
=7. LATVALA. Ford Focus RS WRC 09. 2:33.1
9. VILLAGRA. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 2:33.7
10. WILSON. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 2:35.2
11. BLOCK. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 2:38.5
Source: WRC
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