Rally Japan: three questions to Benoit Nogier

Rally Japan is a particularly demanding event on the World Championship calendar. What are the specifics of the route?

“In the end, all the rounds of the World Rally Championship are complicated. Each rally has its own traits that give every event its unique character. In Japan, the weather is frequently variable. You often drive on quite muddy gravel that quickly forms ruts for the second run. The roads are narrow and extremely technical. Having good pace notes is vital. Once again, the role of the codriver is fundamental.”

Dani Sordo will be contesting his second rally with the Citroën Junior Team. What are you
expecting from him?

“We’re very pleased to welcome Dani back to the Citroën Junior Team. In Finland, we were particularly pleased by his performance. It was his first rally with a new team for him, but he settled in rapidly. In Japan, Dani has shown himself to be quite competitive in the past. We’re hoping that he will be able to do his best again. His objective is to be amongst the top five of the factory drivers.”

For Kimi Räikkönen, will the target be any different to the previous rallies?

“Kimi is making progress from rally to rally and he is getting closer to the performance of other drivers who have a lot more experience than him. His most recent performances underline the improvements he has made and he is becoming increasingly more consistent. In Japan we will be competing against other crews who don’t have a huge amount of past experience on this route, which is relatively new. If Kimi could repeat the same sort of performance that he has put in on the other rallies that are new to everyone this year, like Turkey or Bulgaria, this would be a great outcome.”