A double for the Citroën DS3 WRCs in the shakedown

This morning, the five Citroën DS3 WRCs entered in Rally Italy-Sardinia, the fifth round of the season, took part in the shakedown in Monte Pinu. Petter Solberg set the quickest time on the 2,06-km stage followed by Sébastien Ogier.

Ogier, winner of the last two rallies in Portugal and Jordan, confirmed that he is the man in form at the moment: “We’re on a good run. These two wins have put us back in the title chase. Rally Sardinia is a complicated event, even the short leg on Sunday looks difficult. The route leaves no room for errors. You have to be very precise as the roads are often very narrow and there are a lot of stones on the line. I’d be happy with a podium finish. It’s very important to score the highest number of points possible in each rally.”

Sébastien Loeb arrived in Sardinia as the new world championship leader, and he will be first out on the road throughout the opening day, “which will be run on new stages,” as he reminds us. “The surface is a bit harder than on the rest of the route. By starting first we’re badly placed; we are at the mercy of the tactics of our rivals. The aim is to achieve the best possible performance as the most important thing is to be well placed before the asphalt rallies. The shakedown went off well. The balance of the Citroën DS3 WRC seems good even if the stage isn’t really representative of a lot of uphill hairpins!”

Petter Solberg is as motivated as ever, and his aim is to win in Sardinia as he did in 2004. He showed his strategy this morning by pushing right from the start of the shakedown. The Petter Solberg World Rally Team driver set the fastest time in 1m 45.4s.

The only glitch in the Citroën camp hit the Van Merksteijn Motorsport squad. Peter van Merksteijn Jr broke the steering of his Citroën DS3 WRC second time through in a gulley. Liquid leaked and started a fire which was quickly put out. The 28-year-old Dutchman will be at the start tomorrow.

His father, Peter van Merksteijn, had his first taste of the Citroên DS3 WRC in the shakedown and did several runs to find his marks.