WRC – ADAC Rally Deutschland Day 1 : Loeb on Top
As expected, it was Citroen that dominates the proceeding during the 1st day of the ADAC Rally Deutschland. Sebastien Loeb won 4 of the 6 special stages as he made the intention of securing his eighth successive Rally Deutschland victory very clear.
A tough 2nd day beckons for Sebastien Loeb as he will lead the running into the special stages.
Loeb ended the day in 1st place, but not by a large margin as 2nd place man Dani Sordo (below) was only 9.5 seconds behind the championship leader. Sordo was back with the main Citroen team after driving for the Citroen Junior team at the Rally Finland. The Citroen duo battled it out through the 6 special stages, leaving everybody else in their wake.
Ford’s Jari-Matti Latvala (above) finished the day in 3rd place, more than a minute behind Loeb. Sebastien Ogier had an unfortunate event when the anti-stall system on his car failed, causing him to stop abruptly for several times at hairpin and tight corners. Despite the setback, he managed to conclude the day with a 4th place finish, just ahead of another Ford driver, Mikko Hirvonen.
Hirvonen (above) is only 3.6 seconds behind Ogier and a further 9.8 seconds behind his teammate Latvala, making it an interesting 3 way battle for the last spot on the podium. The fight for the win will be likely between the Citroen duo of Loeb and Sordo, after they pulled out quite a big margin ahead of the others.
Citroen’s mechanic working on the Citroen C4 WRC.
Atmosphere, ADAC Rally Deutschland 2010.
Petter Solberg managed to win in SS4, and registered a competitive times during the special stages, but the time he lost after suffering a flat tyre proved too much to claw back. Solberg lost 2 minutes 36 seconds changing his wheel.
Kimi Raikkonen ended 8th in his Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC.
Photo : Citroen WRC, worldrallypics.com, Tony Welam (pettersolberg.com)
