Flash Nº 0
Date: 4-10-2007
Leg: Shakedown
Special Stage: Tivissa-Serra d’Almòs
Distance: 3.98 km
Weather: Fog in the first part.
Road conditions: 40% humidity and a bit slippery.
Drivers’ comments
1 – Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (Citroën C4 WRC)
“I badly need to score some points, and this event on asphalt is essential for me. I like the RallyRACC. I’m aware that Marcus Grönholm is very fast here and we need to push hard to win him. This rally should be a tribute to Colin McRae. Before I arrived to WRC, I was told he was a distant and closed guy, but in fact I met a really open and friendly person, a great guy”.
2 – Marc Martí, co-driver to Daniel Sordo, (Citroën C4)
“The shakedown times are slower than last year because of the fog and the slightly slippery road”.
3 – Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen (Ford Focus RS WRC 2007)
“In the first part of the stage the visibility was not good because of the fog, and the road was a bit slippery. That’s why we are slower than last year”.
6 – François Duval/Patrick Pivato (Citroën Xsara WRC)
“The prospect for this rally is to save the engine with Corsica in mind. I painted my helmet with Colin McRae’s colours as a tribute to him”.
7- Petter Solberg/Philip Mills (Subaru Impreza WRC 06)
“I have better feelings than last year. I have good prospects and I am excited about the race”.
14 - Xevi Pons/Xavier Amigo (Subaru Impreza WRC 06)
“It’s funny, in the best of my four runs my co-driver was Oleguer, the F.C. Barcelona player. The road was dryer then and I was able to be faster”.
Oleguer Presas (F.C. Barcelona player)
“I was a bit scared. I like the world of rallies, it’s a sport I follow with interest. I co-drove to Xevi Pons because he is a close friend. Of course, I would love to get back in the car again if I ever had the chance to do so”.
Joan Roma (Raids driver)
“I came today because I really like this world and I won’t be able to come tomorrow”.
31 - Patrick Sandell/Emil Axelsson (Renault Clio 2.0 16v)
“Everything went fine. The set up is ready for tomorrow. We raced on a dry surface, but it was a bit dirty after all the cars had been out before”.
35 - Martin Prokop/Jan Tomanek (Citroën C2 S 1600):
“On the first run, the shock absorbers’ regulation was too hard and it didn’t perform well on such a bumpy stage. We readjusted them and things improved. The stage was nice, but I like others better”.
44 - Yoan Bonato/Benjamin Boulloud (Citroën C2 R2)
“We had a few troubles with the brakes, but we solved it for the last run and now the car is ready for tomorrow”.
59 - Yeray Lemes/Rogelio Peñate (Citroën C2 S 1600)
“This is my second rally on this car. We intend to improve as I grow accustomed to it. I really liked the stage. The road was dry but dirty”.
Shakedown summary
Sébastien Loeb (Citroën C4 WRC) set the fastest time on the shakedown, which is the test used to get the cars ready for the start of the race. The humidity and the fog in the first part of the special stage in Tivissa brought all the times up as compared to last year’s RallyRACC round. The French driver made three runs and set the best time on 2.32.7 on his third attempt. Local driver Xevi Pons (Subaru Impreza WRC 06) was second on 2.34.1, followed by Belgian François Duval (Citroën Xsara WRC), whose helmet was painted in Colin McRae’s colours. The memory of the Scottish driver was overwhelmingly present among the participants.
Marcus Grönholm (Ford Focus RS WRC 2007), Dani Sordo (Citroën C4 WRC) and Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Focus RS WRC 06), completed the top 6 of this morning’s shakedown.
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