Portugal : Citroën JWRC - PreviewAfter the debut of the Junior Championship on the Rally Norway, the overwhelming majority of the C2 Junior Experience competitors will meet in Portugal. Only Aaron Burkart, fifth in Norway with a C2 Super 1600, has chosen to play his joker
and give Rally Portugal a miss. For the other seven drivers in the C2 Junior Experience, the season starts here.
Portugal is the second rally on the Junior calendar and also the first gravel event, as well as being an entirely unknown quantity for everyone. After a five-year absence, Portugal only makes its return to the FIA World Championship this season. The Junior crews will face a tough task, tackling 18 special stages and nearly 1000 kilometres through the heart of the Algarve, in the area around Faro in the south of Portugal.
With 357.10 kilometres of special stages, this rally will be far from easy. "We have very little information to go on about the event," said Yves Matton, Citroen Sport's Customer Competitions manager. "Our only experience of it comes from Dani Sordo, who drove the rally twice in 2005 and 2006. We know that if there is bad weather, the surfaces are likely to be very difficult and extremely slippery. If it's dry though, the rally should be quite smooth."
Two
Citroen C2 Super 1600 cars and five Citroen C2-R2s will mark the real start of this year's C2 Junior Experience on Thursday night, at the spectator superspecial held in the Algarve Stadium close to Faro. Shaun Gallagher, who finished eighth in Norway as the only C2-R2 driver, now faces tough opposition from Raphael Auquier, Gilles Schammel, Stefano Benoni and Dominique Rebout. Their biggest motivation will be to try and close down the points gap that Gallagher opened out in Norway, aiming for the coveted end of year prize awarded to the highest-placed C2-R2 driver.
Nonetheless, Gallagher will be the most experienced driver there. "It's good to see that we've brought on a number of new drivers with the C2-R2" said Yves Matton. "Raphael Auquier, Stefano Benoni and Dominique Rebout have no experience of the Junior Championship. Portugal will also be their first gravel rally, so they will have to get used to the car and a new surface at the same time. The goal for them is to get to the finish and to learn from the experience they should gain in Portugal."
Driving the C2 Super 1600, Martin Prokop and Conrad Rautenbach have already accumulated plenty of Junior Championship knowledge. They too will start their season with the firm aim of doing better than the fifth place Aaron Burkart managed in Norway, in order to gain the upper hand in this year's FIA Junior Championship.
"Martin and Conrad have the chance of an excellent result in Portugal" said Yves Matton. "In particular, Conrad has just won the Safari Rally in the IRC and he is very happy with the test he has just completed with the Ph Sport team. Both drivers have the possibility of doing very well but the big unknown will be how well they get on with the territory. Having said that, we're still hopeful that they will end up on the podium."
Citroen Sport
