Citroën Junior Team drivers Sébastien Ogier and Kimi Räikkönen begin their preparation for the second half of the World Rally Championship season this weekend with a run-out at the Rally della Lanterna in Genoa, Italy.
The rally will give Ogier and Räikkönen a chance to drive their Citroën C4 WRCs on asphalt, a surface which is prevalent during the second part of the season. Of Ogier’s 50 rallies, only 20 have been on asphalt while Räikkönen is yet to race on the surface for Citroën.
Frenchman Ogier is on a rich vein of form, having won the last WRC event in Portugal and he currently sits second in the overall drivers’ championship. The race in Italy will be his third rally in three weeks though after he competed in the Intercontinental Rally Championship’s Rally d’Italia-Sardegna last weekend.
Citroën Sport Photos
“With the end of the season heavily biased towards asphalt, this rally will allow us to get back up to speed with the Citroën C4 WRC on this surface,” he said. “Taking part in a real rally will allow us to experience competitive conditions, which will help us be ready for Bulgaria and the rest of the season in Germany, France and Spain.
“With three rallies in three weeks, everything is a bit hectic for me at the moment! It’s great; as for a young driver every start is a chance to gain more experience.”
Former F1 world champion Räikkönen is also looking forward to testing himself on the surface. “Since the very start of the season, I’ve always been really keen to try out the Citroën C4 WRC on asphalt. We’re going to treat this rally as a life-sized test session.”
Before the asphalt season starts Ogier will get the chance to step up to the Citroën factory team after it was announced that he would swap seats with Dani Sordo in Finland, Japan and Great Britain. The Frenchman will be back in his Junior Team car by Bulgaria though and team principal Olivier Quesnel dismissed suggestions the move was a punishment for the Sordo’s lacklustre start to the season.
Citroën Sport Photos
“We need to make sure that every opportunity comes our way,” he said. “The 2009 season showed just how easily a favourable situation can reverse itself. Looking at the way things have gone in the first part of the season, it seems that Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia would be able to help us to achieve our objectives on gravel.
“But I do not want people to think that this reflects in any way badly on Dani Sordo and Marc Marti. They have had a slightly troubled start to the season and they need to get their confidence back.”
For more motorsport action, click here. Read this article to find out how Kimi got on when he faced Enduro rider Taddy Blazusiak at the Erzberg Rodeo.
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