Dani Sordo to Drive in Kouvola
O.K. Auto-Ralli (July 6-7, 2007)
As part of its build-up to the Rally Finland (August 3-5), the
ninth round of the 2007 World Rally Championship, Citroën Sport has
decided to enter a C4 WRC for Dani Sordo and Marc Martí on the O.K.
Auto-Ralli.
The O.K. Ralli is the final event to take place in Finland before the country hosts its flagship fixture that will mark the start of the second half of the world series and is based on a two-day format. The Friday is given over to recce of the 91km of stages, while the event itself takes place on the Saturday, using gravel roads near Kouvola, a small town to the north-seat of Helsinki.
Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena recently contested and won the
Donegal International Rally driving a Citroën C4. For Citroën
Sport, that outing was a step into unknown territory and a
foretaste of the challenge that awaits them in Ireland. That won´t
be the case in Finland, however, as Guy Fréquelin explains:
"Since our first visit to Finland in 2002, we are beginning to
build up good experience of the specific characteristics of the
Finnish stages. Our recent test session with both crews enabled us
to get in some good work with the C4 WRC. It is still a new car and
we are still trying to make it a competitive package on all types
of surface. The O.K. Ralli will enable us to see if the set-up we
have found for Finland functions. If it doesn´t, we will be able to
modify it."
"The other reason for taking part," continues Guy Fréquelin, "is to give Dani Sordo a chance to get more kilometres under his belt on these highly specific roads. You need plenty of practical experience of competing in Finland if you are to have any chance of finding the key. The presence of the local drivers who know the stages by heart will serve as an interesting benchmark for Dani. His objective will be to go the distance with a view to boosting his confidence, improving his feeling with the C4 and providing us with valuable data concerning the C4´s handling, especially over the numerous jumps."
Dani Sordo
is looking forward to the prospect:
"I´m very pleased to be taking part in this event. It will be good
experience for me. So far, I´ve only competed in Finland twice, and
only one of those occasions - last year - was with a WRC car. The
stages are very fast and the jumps are clearly an important
parameter, so it´s essential to have excellent benchmarks. The
roads used by the O.K. Ralli are similar to Rally Finland´s
Ouninpohja stage and consequently very difficult. It will be good
practice to run with the Citroën C4 and I will be looking to
validate the set-up we found in testing."
Media contacts:
Richard Micoud: +33 (0)6 22 60 46 10 / email: richard.micoud@citroen.com
Marie-Pierre Rossi: +33 (0)6 76 87 02 12 / email: mariepierre.rossi@citroen.com
Loïc Rocci: +33 (0)6 85 43 52 50 / email: l.rocci@wanadoo.fr
(Photos by Citroën Sport.)
