Loeb and Hirvonen fight it our for lead

Although day one of Rally Italia only featured two runs on a 28km-long stage, the Citroën Total World Rally Team has already seized control of the race.

Each having claimed one stage win and with little more than a second between them in the overall standings, the Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen crews hold the top two places.

After completing free practice and the qualifying stage, the priority drivers competing in this year’s Rally Italia Sardegna chose their starting positions for the first leg. Opting for a compromise between the problems of sweeping loose gravel faced by those going out early and the fading light on SS2 for those going out later, the Citroën Total World Rally Team crews chose to run in fifth and sixth positions.

Two afternoon runs on the Terranova stage provided 28.14km of typically Sardinian conditions: narrow, sandy roads and plenty of rocks on the verges! As the crews prepared to leave the Olbia service park, they were faced with another dilemma, namely that of tyre choice. With damp patches on large sections of the roads through the undergrowth, the Citroën DS3 WRCs set off with Michelin Latitude Cross soft tyres.

On SS1, Sébastien Loeb proved to be the most consistent. Despite pressure from Mikko Hirvonen on the final splits, the nine-time World Champion* – and we’d better get used to calling him that – grabbed the early overall lead in the rally. The Citroën drivers proved that their tyre choice was the right one by distancing their rivals by over ten seconds.

After a short break, Mikko was determined to hit back on SS2. Once again, it was in the second part of the stage that the Finn was the sharpest. He beat his team-mate by a fraction to close the gap in the overall standings to 1.1s.

“I think we have both got off to a flying start,” commented Séb, clearly enthusiastic about the prospect of the duel that is already shaping up. “We’re free to race as we see fit. For the moment, I feel good, so I’m pushing really hard!”

“It’s been a great start and I have really enjoyed this first day. It’s true that I was quicker at the end. Perhaps that’s because Seb is now too old to do 28km-long stages! Don’t tell him that, though, he might just go even quicker,” joked Mikko. “I hope I can keep going at the same pace tomorrow. The titles are wrapped up, so we don’t need to think about holding position or picking up points.”

“After the Rallye de France where there was quite a lot of pressure, obviously we’re more relaxed this weekend,” admitted Yves Matton, Citroën Racing Team Principal. “Both our crews would dearly love to win here and they showed that they were the quickest today. Both drivers are free to run the race as they see fit, bearing in mind that our goal is still to achieve a one-two finish at this rally.”

NEUVILLE GETS OFF TO GOOD START

After stalling his engine just as he started the qualifying stage, Thierry Neuville had little choice when it came to his starting position. The Belgian nonetheless made the most of his tenth place on the road to complete a good first day’s work. Sixth and then fourth on the two stages, he now lies fourth overall, between Solberg and Østberg. “In the end, starting from tenth position was perfect, although I did have to cover a good part of SS2 in the dark. I wasn’t happy with my time on the first stage, so I pushed harder on the second run. I want keep going like that tomorrow.”

Still getting to grips with driving the DS3 WRC on gravel, the Italian Luca Pedersoli lies 14th in the overall standings.