من طرف الأسطورة الأربعاء أبريل 01, 2009 3:01 pm
Citroen Junior Team gets set for first ever gravel rally
The Citroen Junior Team will face a pure gravel event for the first time in its history when it tackles Rally Portugal this week.
In common with the earlier rounds in Norway and Cyprus, the team is running three Citroen C4 WRCs in Portugal. The crews eligible to score manufacturer points will be Russian driver Evgeny Novikov, co-driven by Australian Dale Moscatt, and Zimbabwean Conrad Rautenbach, co-driven by Britain’s Daniel Barritt.
The all-French line-up of Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia will also be competing for the team in a third C4.
After finishing sixth - his best result of the season so far - on his most recent WRC outing in Cyprus, Conrad Rautenbach is hoping to make progress in Portugal. “We want to do even better now,” he said. “I’m going to try to steadily improve my times while making sure I get to the finish, in order to score points in both championships.”
Rautenbach has tackled Rally Portugal once before - with a Citroen C2 Super 1600 in 2006 - but doesn’t think he’ll be able to apply much of what he learnt then to this year’s event.
“I think that we are going to end up re-writing all our pace notes because practically the entire rally is brand new,” he explained. “On the bits that we know already from the past, the scenery is going to go by much quicker in the C4. But having participated on the rally in the past definitely offers a small gain, just in terms of experience of the roads.”
Like Rautenbach, Novikov will start the rally aiming for championship points. “I’m beginning to build up a really good feeling with the C4,” he said. “It’s an extremely competitive car. My goal is to gain a little more experience and reach the finish, while putting in a few good stage times.”
Sebastien Ogier was within 300 metres of a good result in Cyprus when he drove off the road and retired. The reigning Junior World Rally Champion is keen to put his accident behind him. “We’ve got to keep on working hard,” he said. “I believe we’re making progress with every rally. Portugal will be our first ‘normal’ event. I’m aiming just to get to the finish there without making any mistakes, in order to concentrate completely on my driving.
“We’ve taken a big step forward already but we’re continuing to learn all the time. Throughout the last year the car has received a number of small evolutions and I understand the Citroën C4 WRC and the way it behaves better and better now. I’m feeling increasingly confident behind the wheel,” he added
.The Citroen Junior Team will face a pure gravel event for the first time in its history when it tackles Rally Portugal this week.
In common with the earlier rounds in Norway and Cyprus, the team is running three Citroen C4 WRCs in Portugal. The crews eligible to score manufacturer points will be Russian driver Evgeny Novikov, co-driven by Australian Dale Moscatt, and Zimbabwean Conrad Rautenbach, co-driven by Britain’s Daniel Barritt.
The all-French line-up of Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia will also be competing for the team in a third C4.
After finishing sixth - his best result of the season so far - on his most recent WRC outing in Cyprus, Conrad Rautenbach is hoping to make progress in Portugal. “We want to do even better now,” he said. “I’m going to try to steadily improve my times while making sure I get to the finish, in order to score points in both championships.”
Rautenbach has tackled Rally Portugal once before - with a Citroen C2 Super 1600 in 2006 - but doesn’t think he’ll be able to apply much of what he learnt then to this year’s event.
“I think that we are going to end up re-writing all our pace notes because practically the entire rally is brand new,” he explained. “On the bits that we know already from the past, the scenery is going to go by much quicker in the C4. But having participated on the rally in the past definitely offers a small gain, just in terms of experience of the roads.”
Like Rautenbach, Novikov will start the rally aiming for championship points. “I’m beginning to build up a really good feeling with the C4,” he said. “It’s an extremely competitive car. My goal is to gain a little more experience and reach the finish, while putting in a few good stage times.”
Sebastien Ogier was within 300 metres of a good result in Cyprus when he drove off the road and retired. The reigning Junior World Rally Champion is keen to put his accident behind him. “We’ve got to keep on working hard,” he said. “I believe we’re making progress with every rally. Portugal will be our first ‘normal’ event. I’m aiming just to get to the finish there without making any mistakes, in order to concentrate completely on my driving.
“We’ve taken a big step forward already but we’re continuing to learn all the time. Throughout the last year the car has received a number of small evolutions and I understand the Citroën C4 WRC and the way it behaves better and better now. I’m feeling increasingly confident behind the wheel,” he added
