Loeb tells what is the most difficult in rally for Kimi

Sébastien Loeb doesn't think that the idea of Kimi winning a WRC-rally is impossible.

However Loeb reminds that Räikkönen took a step straight from the tracks to the highest level of rallying. He needs a lot of practice time before we can see Räikkönen's real talents in rally.

- It's difficult to say. This is a WRC-serie, not any national rally. When you come to rally from F1 like he did, then of course you need time to learn everything and improve your driving style. It's tricky especially with the notes. We improve our notes each year. When you come with 5th gear to a corner in the middle of trees and you have to slow down, that's when you have to be sure about the corner. That is probably the most difficult thing for him.

Quick on the testing roads

Although Räikkönen drives as a privateer, he has often shared the same roads with champion Loeb. When the road is familiar Räikkönen can take out everything from himself and the car.

- I know that he is very fast on testing roads. We always test on the same roads and he can be really fast. Notes and experience - I think he needs them most. It doesn't go that badly.

Winning a WRC-rally would require a small miracle from Räikkönen. Loeb doesn't exclude the possibility that we someday would hear the Finnish anthem in honor of the Iceman's rally victory.

- It depends on how long he will go on and how much enthusiasm he has. He has earlier proved to be one of the fastest drivers in the world. Everything is possible, Loeb said.

MIIKA WUORELA

Source: Iltalehti
Courtesy: Nicole

[Video] Rally Jordan Review by Red Bull

Source: Red Bull

Thanks: TaniaS

Rally Mexico: Ones to Watch

The Mexico form book says Loeb, Loeb, Loeb for the win – but we look at a few other drivers who will use their nerve and skill to challenge Sébastien for the Corona Rally Mexico's WRC crown this week.

Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) – Ford

WRC’s youngest-ever winner, in Sweden in 2008, came tantalisingly close to back-to-back victories when the series visited Mexico in the next event. Latvala (pictured, above) led the way after day one, but then a fault with the turbo on his Focus engine, along with the built-in disadvantage of starting first on the road, saw the Finn’s lead gradually eaten away to nothing. Nevertheless, he did take third back then, and with a podium already in Sweden this year, perhaps the Ford man’s Mexican luck might change this weekend.

Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) – Ford

Dani Sordo and Sébastien Loeb might have set the early pace in their Citroëns in last month’s Rally Sweden, but in the middle of day two, Hirvonen grabbed Loeb’s lead and didn’t let it go. The Finn’s record in Mexico is rather ordinary by his high standards – 14th, third and fourth in the last three visits – and being first on the road here this time will mean he sweeps the road for everyone else on day one. It’s too early in the season for team orders, but perhaps what his wingman Latvala does here, whether by a win or other means, will decide whether it’s Hirvonen or Loeb on top of the WRC standings come Sunday.

Sébastien Loeb (FRA) – Citroën

Losing out to Hirvonen in Sweden is unlikely to have concerned Loeb too greatly. Snow has never been the six-time champion’s best surface, and he goes to Mexico knowing that his Finnish adversary will have to sweep the loose, gravelly surface for him from his rally-starting position. Nevertheless, Loeb is serious enough about ensuring Citroën success this season to turn down an offer to drive a Peugeot at Le Mans this year, so will be fully focused on securing a fourth consecutive Rally Mexico win.

Sébastien Ogier (FRA) – Citroën

Frenchman Ogier is no doubt fond of Mexico. In the last rally here back in 2008, he not only won the J-WRC class outright on his full debut in the Citroën C2 Super 1600 but also took a point in the overall WRC standings, the first S1600 driver ever to do so, after being promoted to eighth after local driver Ricardo Triviño was excluded for using unhomologated driving gloves. If this was a lucky break, Ogier’s fifth place in Sweden last month, now in a Citroën Junior Team C4, was not. Expect another impressive showing.

Kimi Räikkönen (FIN) – Citroën

Räikkönen’s entry into WRC has been, quite literally, a very bumpy ride so far. Having crashed out of the Arctic Lapland Rally, in which he’d entered his C4 WRC to get accustomed to conditions ahead of the WRC's season-opening Rally Sweden, he first hit traffic, in the form of strugglng Matthew Wilson, and then a snowbank when he was flying on his WRC debut in Karlstad, finishing 30th. A recurring back problem from his F1 days has now nobbled his chances of testing for his gravel debut, so Mexico will be a real unknown quantity. But Räikkönen will be undaunted… and this means watching him drive should once again be enormously entertaining.

Source: Red Bull

[Video] Drivers preview Rally Mexico

Source: WRC

What did we learn in Sweden? Allow The WRC Guru to explain

So, after a four month break the 2010 World Rally Championship is finally up and running, and as the snow dust settles after a sensational Rally Sweden, it looks like the year ahead will be cracker.

Of course it's not easy to draw too many long-term conclusions after a rally as specialised as Sweden, but the performances of the top drivers on ice have given us some useful indications about how the season might pan out.

To help interpret the results here at wrc.com, we can call upon the expertise of WRC TV's stage end reporter Julian Porter - a man who spends more time talking to the drivers on the stages than just about anybody.

This unique level of rally insight, combined with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the sport, is why Julian is more commonly known as 'The Guru'.

So what did we learn from Rally Sweden? Here are the Guru's top five suggestions:

1: Raikkonen has passed his first WRC driving lesson
"Before any WRC season there's always a lot of hype about what's going to happen, and who's going to do what. This year was no different, except that we had another factor to consider: just how was former F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen going to get on? Pushed out of his Ferrari F1 drive, Raikkonen decided the challenge of rallying was just what he wanted and I for one am delighted he's come to the WRC.

"Even after his Arctic rally warm-up, however, Sweden was always going to be a tough start for him, and anybody who thought he was going to set the world alight straight away obviously didn't understand the sport.

"Probably the best thing that happened to Kimi was getting stuck behind Khalid Al Qassimi on the first proper stage. This immediately took away a lot of the pressure to succeed. Over the three days Kimi got very well acquainted the snow shovel carried in his Citroen but remained in good humour as he learned. The experience gained in Sweden will be invaluable for future events. Well done Kimi. Welcome to the WRC and thank you, Ferrari."

2: It's advantage Mikko in the title race
"Mikko Hirvonen says losing the 2009 championship by one point made him stronger and he's prepared to be more aggressive in his approach this year. Well, if Sweden is anything to go by he's certainly following his own advice. Mikko was brilliant in all areas in Sweden and on Saturday showed Sebastien how to use the tyres to their best.

It's also worth pointing out that Mikko didn't back off on Friday night - when he had the chance - to run behind Seb in Saturday's running order. In fact, Saturday was probably the best day of Mikko's WRC career to date. What he'll manage to do in Mexico nobody knows, but with Mikko having the advantage from round one he could have set up the biggest championship fight we've had in many years. I like the look of the new more aggressive Mikko Hirvonen."

3: Sebastien Loeb has a fight on his hands for title number seven
"On the other side of the battle for the lead was Sebastien Loeb, the six time world rally champion. Seb has won on every surface in the WRC and for that reason is favourite to win every rally he enters. But he must have left Sweden thinking this year is going to be tough.

"Sweden showed us that if he wants to take a seventh title then he will have to dig extra deep. Seb made a wrong decision on when to change tyres on Saturday and nearly threw everything away with a big scare on Sunday morning. At that point he decided second on round one wasn't such a bad result and backed off. I can't remember the last time Seb has openly given up on the lead fight like that, but it just goes to show how strong an opponent Mikko was."

4: Dani Sordo is under pressure
"Dani ended the 2009 season strongly, and driving for the top team and in the best car in many ways seems to be living the WRC dream. But in Sweden we saw some of the extreme pressure that Sordo is under. Having Sebastien Loeb, one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport, as your team-mate has never been easy, but now his Junior team colleague Sebastien Ogier looks to be stalking him.

"Dani needs to win a rally very soon to prove his worth. In Sweden he was good on Friday but lacked speed on Saturday morning, before that lucky escape from a massive sixth-gear spin. Things got worse in the afternoon when the radiator covers were left on and he lost his third stopping to remove them. If that wasn't bad enough, team boss Olivier Quesnel showed little sympathy, blaming Sordo for the 'stupid' mistake. Dani responding by saying it was his co-driver's job to remove the covers. Whoever was to blame, Dani must be feeling the pressure from a Sebastien up ahead and another one coming up from behind."

5: Sometimes in the WRC things just don't go to plan
"The Rally Sweden entry list was dripping with quality names in quality cars - including four former world champions; Sebastien Loeb, Marcus Gronholm, Petter Solberg and Kimi Raikkonen. Much had been made of Petter's title-winning potential this year, but it's not easy to do everything yourself and on Thursday night the pressure showed. Unfortunately for him, the mistakes on the Super Special set the tone for the rest of the weekend. Despite having the same basic machinery as Sebastien Loeb, nothing seemed to go right for Solberg in Sweden. Now he's hoping for a fresh start in Mexico. Let's hope Sweden was just an isolated 'blip' for Petter.

"Marcus Gronholm was still as popular and funny as ever, but he too wished things had gone differently. He spent Friday morning getting up to speed only to have the Focus stop on him in the afternoon. Later on he was unlucky enough to get a puncture and go off the road on Saturday. He will take some good memories though. When he announced he was coming out of retirement he said he wanted to go fastest on his favourite stage of the WRC, Sagen. In the morning on Saturday he came off second best to Loeb, but in the afternoon he was fastest. Job done. Marcus, it was great having you back."

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

LE MANS IS A TEMPTATION FOR LOEB AND KIMI

Turun Sanomat 13.2 2010 00:21:31

Olivier Quesnel has been presented with the idea of driving two champions, Sebastien Loeb and Kimi Räikkönen, next summer in Le Mans 24.

Quesnel has been the manager of both Citroen Racing and Peugeot Sport since January 1st 2009.

Peugeot won last year when the trio Marc Gene, David Brabham and Alex Wurz drove the French label to the top.

Le Mans is during the rally-break in the middle of June so both Loeb and Räikkönen would be free to take part in it. Yet they haven't had any discussions over it. Quesnel is only starting to think about it.

David Robertson confirmed to TS that Kimi's contract doesn't have any hinders in his contract that would prevent him from taking part in Le Mans. Robertson also knows that Kimi would like at some point of his career experience the legendary challenges of Le Mans.

Räikkönen made true what Loeb only was planning last year. Loeb would have wanted to drive for Toro Rosso in Abu Dhabi GP. The plans didn't yet come true because he didn't get the superlicense from FIA.

Loeb has taken part in LeMans twice in 2005-2006 and came in second.

Hagfors/Heikki Kulta

Courtesy: Nikki @PF1 Forum

Rally Sweden day one: Manufacturer team reaction

BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team principal, Malcolm Wilson on...

Mikko Hirvonen's leading performance: "I'm very happy. Everybody likes to be leading from the start, but Mikko made some small changes to his set up on SS4 and from then on he's had good confidence. We were a little bit worried that he might have destroyed the tyres by being maybe a bit aggressive, but now we’re starting to see the benefit of his experience - he just kept on pushing to get as far ahead as he could."

Jari-Matti Latvala's contribution: "He's done a good job. On the second stage this afternoon we saw what he's really capable of, but I think he pushed a little too hard there and did some damage to the tyres. But when you see those sorts of times you see he's got the potential."

Citroen Total World Rally Team director, Olivier Quesnel on...

Sebastien Loeb's cautious approach to tyre wear: "This afternoon we thought we should take care of the tyres, and maybe Seb didn't push enough, but this is it, and Mikko was right to push."
Dani Sordo and Sebastien Ogier: "Dani is doing a very good rally, but I must mention Sebastien Ogier too. This is his first time in Sweden and only his second time on snow. What he's done here is amazing."

Kimi Raikkonen's learning curve: "Kimi is learning. He went off the road but as I've said before we have to give Kimi time to learn. We have to wait until the middle of the season. In the second half he should be okay, but this is his first WRC rally with us. Everybody is very fast and Sweden is very complicated. For me there is no problem. He just has to learn."

Source: WRC.com

SS1: Sordo leads after Thursday night's Super Special

Citroen Total Team driver Dani Sordo is Thursday's overnight leader of Rally Sweden after setting the fastest time through the rally opening Super Special Stage in his C4 World Rally Car.

Thousands of spectators braved sub-zero temperatures to watch the first stage of the 2010 World Rally Championship - a floodlit, head-to-head blast around a 1.9km ice circuit in the rally's host city of Karlstad.

After recording a time of 1min 34.4sec around the figure-of-eight track Sordo was delighted with his performance. "We had a really good pre-event test, as well as a good time on the arctic rally a fortnight ago and that's helped me get a good feeling in the car," he said. "I know I can still go faster if I need to, but so far so good."

Citroen Junior team driver Sebastien Ogier, also in a C4 WRC, was nearest to Sordo's time, but a full two seconds slower. "I enjoyed the stage and I like to drive in these ice conditions," he said.

A deliberately careful start from Ford team leader Mikko Hirvonen netted him the third fastest time, while similar approaches put defending world champion Sebastien Loeb fourth and Marcus Gronholm fifth.

Super Special winner in 2008 Petter Solberg, however, paid the price for a more aggressive approach. The Norwegian nudged a snow bank and later spun his C4 WRC, reaching the finish control 18.3sec slower than Sordo and without a front bumper. "I got some very, very bad oversteer, but it was my fault - I tried too hard. That's just how it is," he explained.

On his first WRC stage with the Citroen Junior Team, Kimi Raikkonen set the ninth fastest time. "That was okay," he said. "A little bit cautious but I took it easy. It's okay, all you can do on these stages is lose it."

After this evening's prelude, the proper stage action begins on Friday morning at 0818hrs, when crews tackle the first of six stages in the countryside north of Karlstad, before a return to Karlstad for a repeat of the Super Special.

[EDIT] Link to full results of SS1 here

Sources: WRC.com, Motorsport

Loeb fastest at Sweden Shakedown

Defending World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb sent a clear signal to his rivals today by setting the fastest time at the pre-Rally Sweden Shakedown test in his Citroen C4 WRC.

The four-hour test took place on a 4km stage in Hagfors, just south of the event's main Service Park. Conditions were perfect for this season's only winter round, with light snow falling throughout the session and a temperature of a chilly -8 degrees Celsius.

Loeb, the leader of the Citroen Total team, made four passes through the stage in his C4 WRC, setting his best time of 1min 53.4sec on his final attempt. Returning to the Service Park, the six time World Champion told wrc.com he was satisfied with the set-up of his car but warned that stage conditions could make this a very difficult event.

"My car felt okay, no problems, but Shakedown is a bit special I think compared to the first pass through the stages we will have tomorrow," he said. "In the stages there is snow and a lot of slippery conditions but the Shakedown was full of gravel so there was a lot of grip. Friday's first stage has a good ice base, on the second there was just snow on the recce, and for me that's not good. We're very close to the gravel underneath, so the second pass will be rough and hard for the tyres.

"I don't have much experience of the tyres in these conditions, but for sure we'll start to lose some studs. I don't know how to save the tyres on a surface like this. We'll have to see."

Loeb's Citroen team-mate Dani Sordo was his closest rival, in a time 1.4sec slower. "My car set-up feels really good, I'm really happy, but we stopped after our fourth pass because the surface was completely gravel and we would have destroyed the tyres," said the Spaniard. "The grip we get with these tyres on gravel is just incredible, but if the surface goes back to snow after 10 or 11kms, and the tyres are worn out, then we could be in trouble."

Jari-Matti Latvala was third quickest in his BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team Focus RS WRC, while his team-mate Mikko Hirvonen was fourth quickest in another Focus.

Five time Rally Sweden winner Marcus Gronholm rounded off the top five times in his Ford Focus - a car he last tackled a WRC rally with in 2007. "Once we got the seat position right the car felt okay," he said. "It feels very like the old car, but a little bit better in the engine and the suspension areas. It's good."

On his first WRC shakedown in a Citroen C4 WRC, former F1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen set the 11th fastest time, six seconds slower than Loeb.

The opening stage of the rally, the 1.9km Karlstad Super Special Stage, gets underway on Thursday evening at 2004hrs. Stage and split times will be streamed LIVE and FREE on wrc.com.

Here are the Shakedown times of the leading WRC drivers:

1. LOEB. Citroen C4 WRC. 1:53.4
2. SORDO. Citroen C4 WRC. 1:54.8
3. LATVALA. Ford Focus RS WRC 09. 1:55.8
4. HIRVONEN. Ford Focus RS WRC 09. 1:56.0
5. GRONHOLM. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 1:56.2
6. P. SOLBERG. Citroen C4 WRC. 1:56.3
7. OGIER. Citroen C4 WRC. 1:57.4
8. H.SOLBERG. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 1:57.6
9. OSTBERG. Subaru Impreza WRC 09. 1:59.0
10. WILSON. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 1:59.4
11. RAIKKONEN. Citroen C4 WRC. 1:59.3
12. AL QASSIMI. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 2:00.8

Source: WRC.com

Loeb tested in Sweden with Kimi Räikkönen in the co-driver seat

World rally champion Sebastien Loeb warmed up for Rally Sweden yesterday by testing in northern Värmland. Loeb did a full day test arranged by Citroen and former Citroën driver Thomas Rådström. At the afternoon, even Kimi Räikkönen showed up and did two rounds with Sebastien in the co-driver seat of the car. However, Kimi was there as a private person and didn’t do any tests himself.

Source: MaxAttack

FIA launches officially WRC in event in Paris

The World Rally Championship showed its support for the Make Roads Safe campaign and the call for a Decade of Action for Road Safety at the official launch of the 2010 WRC season in Paris today.

The initiative forms part of the FIA’s continued commitment and support for the Commission for Global Road Safety and its Make Roads Safe campaign.

Jean Todt, FIA President said:

“We are one month away from one of the most important turning points in the history of Road Safety. In March the UN General Assembly is set to approve a Decade of Action for Road Safety, if this happens we could save five million lives over the next 10 years.

“I am pleased that WRC has also rallied itself behind the cause, helping give further exposure to the campaign and helping the Decade become a reality.”

Sébastien Loeb, six time World Rally Champion said:

“I support this campaign and other road safety initiatives. Road crashes kill on the same scale as Malaria, and it is important for long term action at the highest level in order to make roads safe.”

Kimi Räikkönen, former Formula One World Champion turned WRC driver said:

“I am pleased to be able to lend my support to this campaign. It is important for us to use the high profile of our sport to highlight the terrible accidents occurring on the world’s roads, and even more importantly for us to help find a solution to these problems.”

Source: RallyBuzz, FIA