Sardinia : Citroën Sport - PreviewAfter its long and triumphant trip to Argentina, Citroën Sport returns to Europe and the island of Sardinia for Round 7 of the 2007 WRC calendar. Two C4 WRCs have been entered for Rally d'Italia-Sardegna with
Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena
and Dani Sordo/ Marc Martí.
For many years, Italy was represented in the sport's premier series by the Sanremo Rally, but four years ago the event was switched to the north-east corner of Sardinia, a region famously known as the 'Costa Smeralda', the Emerald Coast.
But while this luring appellation is ideally suited to the clear green waters and magnificent creeks north of Porto Cervo, the island offers a contrasting interior in the provinces where the rally action takes place, namely Nuora to the south (Friday), Gallura (Saturday) and Olbia-Tempio to the north (Sunday).
Over the years, the organisers have sought to fine-tune the format of their event to make it more appealing, progressively dropping the blander portions to move increasingly towards the character that forged the reputation of the former European Championship classic, the Costa Smeralda Rally.
Another factor that has helped the teams, including Citroën Sport, to get a better understanding of the event's special challenges is the fact that gravel test sessions are frequently organised in Sardinia.
It has to be said that the island's sometimes spaghetti western backdrop serves as the perfect setting for the ongoing stand-off that has opposed
Sebastien Loeb and Marcus Grönholm since the start of the season. This weekend again they are preparing to act out another scene from 'The top of this podium isn't big enough for both of us.'
As winner of the last three rallies contested this year, Seb will be looking to make it four-in-a-row in Olbia in his bid to pull a little further clear at the top of the Drivers' points table.
"Sébastien and Marcus are clearly the dominant forces on gravel in the WRC at the moment," says Guy Fréquelin. "When they're scrapping to the closest tenth of a second, there aren't many who can match them. Sardinia is not a straightforward event and, once again, it will be essential to finish in order to keep up our challenge in both championships."
"Dani Sordo returns to an event that has already seen him put in some strong performances and I am expecting him to confirm the progress he showed on dirt in Argentina," he added.
"Last but not least, the C4 will once again be competing in anger over a type of terrain that is new to it. The Italian round promises to be both busy and stimulating for everyone at Citroën Sport," Fréquelin stated.
"This is an event that has tended to go well for me so far," observes Dani. "Last year, I felt very comfortable with the Xsara in Sardinia, and my feeling with the Citroën C4 WRC is improving all the time. I believe I have progressed in all the conditions that have given me trouble until now and I hope I can succeed in profiting from the car's potential to score as many points as possible for Citroën."
The three Rally d'Italia-Sardegnas organised to date have been highly successful for Citroën's
Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena. They finished 2nd after their first attempt in 2004 and have since won twice, in 2005 and 2006.
"It's a superb island and the stages are getting better all the time. I hope that will again be the case this year," said Sébastien.
"As ever, my approach will be simple: on the first day I will push hard to try and minimise the handicap of running first on the road and then see where we stand. I want to win and enable Citroën to continue its winning runs both on this event and in 2007, but I haven't forgotten our misadventure in Norway and all the points we lost there. If the situation dictates, I will place the accent on consistency," concluded Seb.
Source Citroën Sport
