Solberg, Räikkönen revved-up to shine in Finnish forests

Behind the wheel of their respective Citroën DS3 WRCs, motorsport heroes Petter Solberg and Kimi Räikkönen will doubtless be two of the most popular draws on this weekend's Rally Finland

Citroën duo Petter Solberg and Kimi Räikkönen are fired-up to produce a strong performance on Rally Finland this weekend and are sure to be amongst the crowd's favourites on what is widely-regarded as the most spectacular event on the World Rally Championship calendar.

Since the most recent round of the 2011 campaign in Greece last month, Solberg has been enjoying a well-earned rest to recharge his batteries, but the former World Rally Champion is now pumped up to shine in the high-speed, treacherous Finnish forests through which average speeds in 2010 measured 120km/h.

Nicknamed 'The Grand Prix of Gravel', the eighth outing of the season boasts the largest entry of any of the rallies thus far in 2011 with 125 cars, and is characterised by a series of fast-and-flowing, smooth gravel stages with big jumps – meaning drivers need to place total confidence in their co-drivers.

Add to that a buzzing atmosphere provided by the throngs of enthusiastic spectators lining the stages, and Solberg – who has twice finished on the podium in twelve previous appearances on Rally Finland, albeit not since his title-winning campaign of 2003 – is eager to get going.

“It was good to have a few weeks off between Greece and Finland,” confessed the 36-year-old Norwegian. “I have spent time just being with my family, and of course we have done some cross-karting. I also really enjoyed the flying-high experience in Switzerland with Breitling – that was really amazing!

“Finland has always been a great event for me. I really enjoy the stages, the atmosphere and just being in Jyväskylä. We spent two days testing in the area, and I hope the 300 kilometres we did will help us get the best possible set-up for all the stages.”

Like experienced fellow Scandinavian Solberg, 2007 F1 World Champion Räikkönen will benefit from the support of Citroën Racing Technologies behind the wheel of his Citroën DS3 WRC in Finland. The Finn currently sits eighth in the drivers' title chase – three spots behind Solberg – and the pair have spent two days apiece testing in preparation for the upcoming hostilities.

“We worked in similar conditions to those of a works team,” reported Benoît Nogier, Citroën Racing Technologies team principal. “There was a combination of humps and wide, quick sections. The roads were comparable to the ones we'll race on [on Rally Finland].

“Our drivers were a bit worried about how the car would handle at very high speed, [but] this test session has reassured them about the balance of the DS3 R3. Petter was very happy with our set-up. We did a good job to help him start Rally Finland as a potential victory contender. The fact that he's got to grips with the car means he can tackle this rally in a confident frame of mind.

“Kimi loves his country and his rally. He really enjoyed his two-day test, and he got the car to handle to his liking. He has a logical approach. He was his usual self, did not get excited and kept his unflappable calm. We hope he'll drive a consistent rally and close the gap to the front-runners.”

Source: Crash.net

Points for Petter Solberg and Kimi Räikkönen

“I pushed really hard and gave it everything I had”

Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson set the early pace in Greece before finishing fourth on the Acropolis Rally, round seven of the FIA World Rally Championship. Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström proved to be increasingly competitive, finally finishing in seventh overall on the event. The two Citroën DS3 WRCs entered by Van Merksteijn Motorsport retired on the opening day of the rally.

Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson have been among the frontrunners since the start of the season, and they were the first to show their true form on the tricky Greek stages. They strung together four fastest stage times to occupy the top of the time sheets by the end of the first day of the Acropolis Rally on Friday.

Petter and Chris established an advantage of more than 50 seconds over the chasing trio that consisted of Sébastien Loeb, Mikko Hirvonen and Sébastien Ogier, but this consequently forced them into running first on the road throughout Saturday. The loose surface caused the crew some difficulties, but nonetheless the Petter Solberg World Rally Team duo managed to end the day on the provisional podium, just 20 seconds or so off the leaders. Petter Solberg fought against Mikko Hirvonen on the final day to end up fourth at the finish, scoring 12 precious championship points.

“I pushed really hard and gave it everything I had,” said the Norwegian. “I’m pleased with our performance and my driving as well as with the team, who all did a fantastic job. We couldn’t have done better; it just wasn’t possible. We’re a private team and we’re fighting against the factory outfits.”

Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström missed the previous two events, which were not on their programme, but they were soon back into the groove from the very beginning. By the end of the opening day they were 10th despite a puncture. They then picked up their pace throughout Saturday to make progress up the leaderboard and claim seventh place on SS8. The Ice 1 Racing crew showed their consistency to hold onto the position until the end, having managed their rally perfectly.

“We weren’t the quickest out there but our goal was to steer clear of problems in order to be there at the end,” said the Finnish driver. “The final two days in Greece were extremely satisfying. It’s a great result for us before heading to Rally Finland.”

The two Citroën DS3 WRCs entered by Van Merksteijn Motorsport did not make it to the end of the opening day. Peter van Merksteijn Jr went off the road on SS3. His co-driver Eddy Chevaillier was taken to hospital in Lamia and then airlifted to Athens for further medical examination. He has a fracture and a crack in his lumbar vertebrae, which will mean that he needs to be immobilised for about 10 days. The entire Citroën Racing team wishes him a full and swift recovery. Peter van Merskteijn Sr went off the road in the team’s other DS3 WRC on SS5.

Source: Nextgen-Auto
Courtesy: Kriss

Solberg takes early lead in Finland; Kimi is 10th so far

Buoyed by his podium performance in Bulgaria, Solberg holds Thursday's overnight lead
Petter Solberg moved into an early lead of the 2010 Neste Oil Rally Finland after setting the fastest time on Thursday evening’s opening stage.

The Citroen C4 WRC driver completed the short Laajavuori sprint stage in 2min 33.2sec, exactly one second quicker than his nearest rival, Ford team-leader Mikko Hirvonen.

At the finish control, Solberg claimed to have taken a gentle approach to the stage. “I was a bit chicken in there,” he said. “The time felt good but the proper stuff starts tomorrow so I was a bit careful.”

Hirvonen, who won Rally Finland last year, also claimed to have more speed in reserve. “It was quite a steady start, and I made a few small mistakes, but I think we’re in the game now. We’ll see for sure tomorrow morning,” said the Finn.

Sebastien Loeb and Jari-Matti Latvala will start Friday’s competition tied in third place after both completing in 2min 34.8sec - 1.6sec slower than Solberg. Sebastien Ogier rounded off the top five times, on his first competitive outing driving for the Citroen Total team.

Neste Oil Rally Finland resumes on Friday morning, with the first stage - the 12.75km Urria - getting underway at 0742hrs.

Results after SS1, Thursday:

Source: WRC

SS2: Solberg fastest again while Raikkonen hits problems

Citroen privateer Petter Solberg extended his lead of Rally Mexico on Friday's second stage, increasing his advantage over second placed Sebastien Ogier to 14.4sec.

Measuring 23.83 kilometres, Friday's second stage, Ortega, is the longest of the day and the highest of the rally - reaching an altitude of 2,737 metres above sea level.

Solberg and Citroen Junior team driver Ogier were the two fastest drivers through in almost identical C4 World Rally Cars, with Solberg completing 4.6sec quicker.

After hitting a rock on the previous stage, Citroen Junior Team driver Kimi Raikkonen had a more serious problem on SS2 which brought his C4 WRC to a halt four kilometres from the start line.

Raikkonen stopped after two large jumps, but the Citroen team said early indications were that a mechanical problem was to blame.

Raikkon and co-driver Kaj Lindstrom are working on the car and more information is expected soon.

Raikkonen's exit promoted Munchi's team driver Federico Villagra up into tenth place overall. Otherwise there were no changes to the top ten positions.

Source: WRC

Rally Mexico Shakedown Times: Kimi is 5th

5 Citroën cars on top...

Shakedown times
1. Petter, Citroën 2.51,7
2. Sordo, Citroën 2.51,8
3. Ogier, Citroën 2.51,9
4. Loeb, Citroën 2.52,5
5. Räikkönen, Citroën 2.54,2
6. Hirvonen, Ford 2.55,3
7. Henning, Ford 2.56,2
8. Villagra, Ford 2.56,4
9. Wilson, Ford +2.59,9
10. Latvala, Ford +3.00,1

Source: PetterSolberg.com
Courtesy: saif @OF

[Video] Drivers preview Rally Mexico

Source: WRC

WRC: Hirvonen takes 16 sec lead into final day in Sweden; Räikkönen is 35th overall...

Ford team-leader Mikko Hirvonen will take a 16.6 second lead into Sunday's final day of Rally Sweden, an advantage his chief opponent, Citroen driver Sebastien Loeb, acknowledged will be difficult to overturn on the five stage which remain.

Saturday's second day of the rally featured two identical loops of four stages in the Varmland region of central Sweden, clustered around the Hagfors Service Park. Under clear blue skies and in temperatures than plunged to -22ºC, crews tackled 117.76km of ice and snow covered gravel stages.

Hirvonen started Saturday's competition in the lead, 6.2 seconds ahead of Loeb, but after a back and forth scrap in the morning, this gap was down to 4.2sec by the midpoint service. The afternoon was another story, however, when Hirvonen and Loeb gambled on fitting fresh tyres at different times - a decision which ultimately went Hirvonen's way and netted him a 23sec lead after SS15.

"Okay, it's been a good day," said Hirvonen. "Sixteen seconds is not much, but it's more than we had in the morning. For sure there are long stages to go tomorrow and Seb will try hard, but we'll see. Hopefully I can keep him behind. First on the road today was not a problem, especially on the first pass it's pretty good to be there; you can make your own lines and there is no snow or ruts or anything."

Loeb ended the day well, clawing back 6.4sec on the final Sprint stage, but the Frenchman was angry at giving time away. "We made a stupid mistake today with the tyres; it was very much the wrong choice," he said. "[On SS15] I put fresh tyres on the front with some completely destroyed tyres on the rear and I couldn't use it. I lost a lot of time to Mikko. Can I catch him? I don’t know, but it will be very difficult. Normally 16 seconds is possible but when you look at the times between us today you can see it’s difficult to make any difference."

Hirvonen's team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala holds third place, after a mixed day at the wheel of his Ford Focus RS WRC. He got a lucky break on SS15, however, when the man ahead of him, Dani Sordo, stopped briefly with an overheating engine. "It’s been an okay day, but the morning was frustrating because Dani was running away," he said. "I thought we might lose the fight, but this afternoon we made a few set-up changes and everything came together. Okay, we were a little bit lucky with Sordo's problems as well. I plan to stay here until the end. It would be nice to start the season with a podium."

Fifty-four seconds behind Latvala, Sordo was left to rue a mistake on SS15 when he didn't remove an air flow blanking panel from the front his car and almost cooked his engine mid stage. "It’s really disappointing," he said. "Anyway I will try to get the best finish and take some points now. The season has only just started with this rally - we'll see how we get on in Mexico."

Citroen Junior Team driver Sebastien Ogier remained well cushioned in fifth all day and was content with his progress. "Our target was fifth place, so if we can carry on like this it will have been a very good first Rally Sweden for us." Stobart Ford team driver Henning Solberg also remained static in the standings, holding sixth all day. "It's okay but I don't think I have one stud in my rear tyres now!" he said at the end of SS16. "I did my best today, but I lost all my studs on Vargasen [SS13] and I don't know why. We'll try some different settings tomorrow. I can get better!"

Henning's Stobart team-mate Matthew Wilson is seventh, after moving ahead of rival Mads Ostberg on SS13. The Briton will take a 13.2sec advantage over Ostberg on Sunday. "We changed the car at lunchtime and it felt completely new; I wish we could start the rally again!" he said. It's been good fun this afternoon, around that Super Special we had no studs left at all, we just slid all the way around. I reckon I can stay ahead of Mads now the car's feeling better, we'll see." Ostberg, meanwhile, is equally determined to finish seventh. "It’s been a difficult day, especially when it comes to tyre wear, but I'm happy I'm here and definitely up for the fight with Matthew," he said.

After losing a lot of time on Friday, Citroen privateer Petter Solberg holds ninth, and was pleased to put another disappointing day behind him. "Maybe I'm using the tyres too hard - I have to drive smarter and more carefully," he said. "It sounds a bit boring but all I can say is I've tried and it is getting better."

Overall classification (check WRC.com for each stage's times):

Kimi's overall standings:

Source: WRC.com