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Kimi Räikkönen equaled his best result of the year
The three Citroën Racing Technologies Citroën DS3 WRCs driven by Petter Solberg, Kimi Räikkönen and Peter Van Merksteijn Jr all finished in the points in Rally Germany. Petter Solberg saw the flag in fifth place and scored an additional point in the Power Stage. Kimi Räikkönen equalled his best result of the season, sixth in Jordan. Peter van Merksteijn Jr came home ninth scoring his first points in the FIA World Rally Championship.
Petter Solberg was knocked out of the fight for victory in SS2 due to a wrong tyre choice when it was raining, and he found himself up against the Ford and Mini drivers. Despite four punctures, the Petter Solberg World Rally Team driver managed to hang on to fifth place till the very end. The Norwegian was third fastest in the Power Stage scoring an additional point, and is now only two behind the fourthplaced driver in the World Rally Championship.
“For the first tarmac rally of the season we had a new car,” said Solberg at the finish. “We went quicker and quicker as the stages unfolded. Being the best privateer and fighting in the middle of the works drivers gives me additional satisfaction. We lost a lot of time because of multiple punctures. I hope we’ll be back in the battle for victory in the next event.”
Kimi Räikkönen continued his series of finishes in the top 10 in his sixth rally with the Citroën DS3 WRC and saw the flag in sixth place. Despite a spin and then a slight off on the first day, the Finn installed himself in eighth place. After passing Henning Solberg during the second leg and taking advantage of Kris Meeke’s retirement near the end of the rally, he equaled his best result of the year.
“Overall, I made a lot of mistakes during the weekend,” said Kimi ruefully. “I feel I wasn’t quick enough due to these errors. It was a complicated rally. I learned a lot especially not to put the tyres just anywhere! Last year we could cross the pavements without problems. With the new tyres it’s not possible as our puncture in the Power Stage proved.”
Peter van Merksteijn Jr with his new co-driver Erwin Mombaerts made a cautious start to his first tarmac rally in the Citroën DS3 WRC, and ended the first day in a very encouraging eleventh spot. He was quick in the redoubtable Arena Panzerplatte stage – the longest in the rally – and moved up the time sheets during the second day breaking into the top 10. Today, the Dutchman defended his ninth place against fellow-countryman Dennis Kuipers and scored his first points in the WRC.
Peter van Merksteijn Jr : “I’m really happy to finish ninth. After all the problems I’ve had it’s a very good result. Erwin Mombaerts and I had to get on the same wavelength. I enjoyed myself a lot, especially in the military camp. I’m delighted to have scored points in the World Rally Championship. I’d like to thank the whole team for the work they’ve done to achieve this result.”
Source: NextgenAuto
The Citroën Junior Team off to a solid start 
Thanks to Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia in fourth place – currently just 6.2 seconds off third – along with Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström in the top 10 at the end of the opening day, the Citroën Junior Team has made a solid start in Germany.After the traditionally popular ceremonial start in front of the Porta Nigra – a city gate that dates from Roman times – the Rallye Deutschland got underway this morning from Trier for an opening day that consisted of 134.04 competitive kilometres, made up of two challenging loops of three stages.On consistently dry roads, with temperatures peaking at 27°C during the afternoon, the Citroën Junior Team opted for soft tyres on the first loop of stages, followed by hard tyres for the second loop. In fact, all the leading drivers made exactly the same tyre choice on day one.Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia set off running second on the road and used the opening day to get to grips with their Citroën C4 WRC on this specialised event. “It was quite a difficult morning,” said the Frenchman at midday service. “From time to time the engine kept stalling on hairpin bends. It meant that I wasn’t able to build up full confidence on these roads and I never really found the ideal pace. We’re setting the same sort of times as our direct competitors, and our plan is to try and do a bit better this afternoon.”On the second loop of stages, Sébastien Ogier increased his pace in order to overhaul Mikko Hirvonen and get closer to Jari-Matti Latvala’s third place. “The afternoon was good,” added Ogier. “The car was perfect and I was able to go quickly. Now we need to continue like this. If we were able to get a podium, that would be a fantastic result for our first Rallye Deutschland in a WRC car.”Kimi Räikkönen got off to a sensible start on what was only his second World Championship asphalt rally. “My priority was not to make any mistakes; this is also the objective for the whole rally,” he said. “The drivers at the front are setting a really quick pace, but I’m here to learn and make progress. The first loop of stages allowed me to get off to a good start and get used to using the handbrake on the many hairpin bends.”The Finn’s step-by-step approach paid dividends. He improved his times by 0.7, 0.6 and then 1.0 seconds per kilometre over each of the three stages respectively in the afternoon. “ We’re picking up a better pace, ” said the former Grand Prix champion. “ I felt comfortable in the Citroën C4 WRC and I was able to go a bit quicker without taking any risks.Tomorrow the stages will be very difficult and once more entirely new to me. We’ll have to see how it all goes. ”Citroën Junior Team manager Benoit Nogier concluded: “ Leaving aside the small mechanical problem that cost him around 15 seconds or so this morning, Sébastien Ogier has once more had a great first day. He’s heading towards third place behind the two factory Citroëns, which are in a league of their own here. A podium would be an amazing result for his debut in Germany with the C4 WRC.Kimi Räikkönen is going up against drivers who already know this event very well. He paid for that lack of experience in the morning but made a lot of progress this afternoon and didn’t make any mistakes. Now he needs to carry on like this. ”Source: Red Bull Rallye
The three Citroën Racing Technologies Citroën DS3 WRCs driven by Petter Solberg, Kimi Räikkönen and Peter Van Merksteijn Jr all finished in the points in Rally Germany. Petter Solberg saw the flag in fifth place and scored an additional point in the Power Stage. Kimi Räikkönen equalled his best result of the season, sixth in Jordan. Peter van Merksteijn Jr came home ninth scoring his first points in the FIA World Rally Championship.
