Toni Gardemeister forfeits raceThe crews participating in th eRallye de France - Tour de Corse were on the shakedown this morning betwenn 8am and 12pm. A 6.94-kilometre special stage from Capo du Feno to Saint Antoine was reserved, where the teams were able to test their
cars.
Entered in the event with a Citroën Xsara WRC prepared by the French P.H. Sport team, Toni Gardemeister will not be taking part in the competiton. The Finn was present at the shakedown this morning but only as a spectator: his forfeit is due to an insufficient budget after a sponsor pulled out last week...
Sebastien Loeb:
"Having won in Catalunya, I'm hoping for another good result. The perfect thing would be to have another one-two in Corsica. It won't be easy as the rally looks set to be very tricky, with several new stages. The roads here are very different to those in Spain, which were more like a racing circuit. In Corsica, the stages are narrower and more bumpy. This means that we have to change the settings slightly. It shouldn't matter though; this is asphalt and so us French drivers should be in front."
Dani Sordo:
"I've always put in some good performances here in Corsica. The fact that I did well on home territory last week takes a bit of pressure off my shoulders. Once more, I need to aim for second place in front of
Marcus Gronholm. But with him, you simply never know..."
Marcus Grönholm:
"I didn't go for several runs over the shakedown, as I had a very good feeling with the car this morning.
I also liked the good weather: it's difficult to get close to Sebastien here so dry – or at least consistent – weather will definitely help us."
Mikko Hirvonen:
"It's important for me to score as many points as possible here towards the Constructors' Championship. This will free me up for the next few rallies, so that I can drive to help Marcus for the drivers' title."
Manfred Stohl:
"Our team did well before the start of the event to retrieve our Japan car and convert it to asphalt spec so that we could start this rally. I hope to pay back all the work they have carried out with a good result, and I'm going to do everything to bring the car back safe and sound, because the car will have to go back to gravel spec for Japan once this rally is over."
François Duval:
"The Kronos team had a bit of work to do to repair the left rear corner of my Xsara after the Catalunya Rally. They did a fantastic job from yesterday to today at a bodyshop in Ajaccio. I'm feeling quite confident here. The stages here should suit be a bit better than those in Spain, which were wider and quicker."
Petter Solberg:
"With so little time after Spain we cannot hope for much in the way of progress. As it is, it will be tough for our car to compete against the factory Citroëns and Fords on asphalt."
Chris Atkinson:
"Our shakedown was cut short by a gearbox change but it was for a good reason. Our car should now be better suited for the demands of tomorrow's stages."
Xevi Pons:
"We changed the set-up during the shakedown, in order to correct some severe understeer which was holding us back. So far, things are looking positive for the rest of the rally."
Jari-Matti Latvala:
"It's my fourth time in Corsica and I'm going to do everything I can to get into the points. Even if it's difficult to make pace notes here, I prefer the Corsican stages with their very abrasive asphalt and series of corners to the stages in Spain – which are a bit too wide and quick for my taste."
Henning Solberg:
"If you leave out the Monte Carlo Rally, which is a unique event, the Tour de Corse is only the third asphalt rally of my life. I suffered through this lack of asphalt experience in Spain, but I'm hoping that my rally there will help me here."
Matthew Wilson:
"It's good for us that the Tour de Corse comes straight after Spain, as I felt at ease straight away in the car this morning. I hope I can keep this feeling during the rally, which will be difficult but very interesting."
Jan Kopecky:
"After my big accident in Spain last week, the team did not have time to fix my Skoda Fabia. So I'm using the spare car, which we quickly put into asphalt specification. My aim will be to get back onto the pace again with confidence, particularly at the beginning of the rally."
Alessandro Bettega:
"As the Fiesta Super 1600 lacked development time, the Ford M Sport team decided to replace the end of my programme by this drive in Corsica with a Ford Focus WRC. For obvious reasons this is a very emotional rally for me and so it won't be easy, but it's also a golden opportunity that is not to be missed. I'm still learning how to drive a WRC car from scratch, so I want to make sure that I have experience of all the stages."
Nicolas Bernardi:
"During the shakedown the car seemed to go as well and be as easy to drive as it had been during our tests in preparation for this event. The only thing is that we still need more time in the car to assess the reliability and our performance compared to the others. Our small team is eager to find out, but we can't expect miracles on our first outing."
Source FFSA
