Wales Rally GB 2011

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sleenster
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Wales Rally GB 2011

Post by sleenster » 05 Nov 2011, 15:43

Finish the season on a high note!

Three Citroën DS3 WRCs prepared by Citroën Racing Technologies will be entered for the last round of the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship. Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson (Petter Solberg World Rally Team), Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström and Peter van Merksteijn Jr and Erwin Mombaerts (Van Merksteijn Motorsport) all have the same objective in Rally Great Britain – finish in the season on a high note.

Preparation for Rally Great Britain was in two phases for the Citroën DS3 WRC drivers. This week, Kimi Räikkönen and Peter van Merksteijn Junior have spent two days on a test track in the south of France. “They each covered 150 kilometers,” says Benoît Nogier, the Citroën Racing Technologies director. “The stage chosen was pretty wet, ideal for an event as specific as the one awaiting us in Wales. Kimi and Peter found the DS3 WRC’s setup suited them down to the ground. They’re both full of confidence before tackling the final event of the season.”

Petter Solberg will get behind the wheel of his Citroën DS3 WRC on Sunday afternoon for a quick canter the day before reconnaissance starts.

Rally Great Britain is one of the classics on the world championship calendar, and it is also one of the most specific events with numerous grip changes and very often a lot of mud. “We know it’s one of the most complicated rallies of the season. And for the 2011 event, the new route adds additional challenges,” underlines Nogier.

The event is spread over four days and the route will bring the crews from the north to the south of Wales. The start will be given on Thursday with a leg consisting of three stages. The following days the exit from the parc fermé are fixed at 5h40, 6h00 and 4h50 respectively. “We’ll have to be in tip-top form so as not to make any mistakes. Recuperation will be of crucial importance for our crews. All the more so if the weather isn’t very good as the conditions promise to be absolutely hellish, especially at night!”

“Our aim is to finish the season on a high note,” he adds. “Petter Solberg has already achieved some mindboggling feats on this terrain. He’ll have the opportunity to end his collaboration with Citroën Racing in the best possible fashion. We all know he’s one of the great chargers. I’m sure he’ll try to be at the front; he doesn’t see things any other way.”

“Kimi Räikkönen is determined to end the season with a scintillating performance after finishing in the first six in his first six outings. He has what it takes to be in the top ten at the finish. Peter van Merskteijn Jr has made a lot of progress at the wheel of the Citroën DS3 WRC. He’s putting this experience to good use by being more and more consistent. If he manages to finish Rally Great Britain without making any mistakes, he’ll be well placed.”
http://www.citroen-wrc.com/en/season/20 ... elease#997

Mar
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Re: Wales Rally GB 2011

Post by Mar » 08 Nov 2011, 20:42

Thanks for the pics (in the pictures thread) and so on.

People, remember the rally starts on thursday afternoon with 3 stages. :)

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Re: Wales Rally GB 2011

Post by sleenster » 09 Nov 2011, 00:54

Thanks Mar :)

+ shakedown starts Wednesday morning 09:00-13:00 local time

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Re: Wales Rally GB 2011

Post by miezicat » 09 Nov 2011, 13:08


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Re: Wales Rally GB 2011

Post by Maili85 » 09 Nov 2011, 13:34

Thanks Miezi :hug:
Are these the final results?

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Re: Wales Rally GB 2011

Post by miezicat » 09 Nov 2011, 13:43

Maili85 wrote:
Thanks Miezi :hug:
Are these the final results?
yes. :) here is a list with only quickest times
http://www.wrc.com/news/ostberg-and-mee ... ?fid=15710

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Re: Wales Rally GB 2011

Post by Maili85 » 09 Nov 2011, 13:49

miezicat wrote: yes. :) here is a list with only quickest times
http://www.wrc.com/news/ostberg-and-mee ... ?fid=15710
OK Thanks again :thumbsup:

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Re: Wales Rally GB 2011

Post by Mar » 09 Nov 2011, 20:52

Hmm, weird times in shakedown ''hmm''

Most drivers did their best time the first time through. Did it rain?
I don't even know what happened during shakedown :( , I was buried under loads of bureaucracy :<>: Any dramas?

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Re: Wales Rally GB 2011

Post by sleenster » 09 Nov 2011, 21:50

Mar wrote:Hmm, weird times in shakedown ''hmm''

Most drivers did their best time the first time through. Did it rain?
I don't even know what happened during shakedown :( , I was buried under loads of bureaucracy :<>: Any dramas?
I don't know either, I have been in meetings most of the day as well :lol: Looks very muddy though

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Re: Wales Rally GB 2011

Post by Mar » 10 Nov 2011, 10:45

sleenster wrote:
Mar wrote:Hmm, weird times in shakedown ''hmm''

Most drivers did their best time the first time through. Did it rain?
I don't even know what happened during shakedown :( , I was buried under loads of bureaucracy :<>: Any dramas?
I don't know either, I have been in meetings most of the day as well :lol: Looks very muddy though
I've had the most crazy 3 1/2 days to be free for the rally and now I am, it can already start, I'm ready !yahoo:

Looking at the video of the shakedown, it looks that part of it was on tarmac. That would explain why the first time through they were all faster: it was dirtier and dirtier each time somebody went through it. That would also explain why Kimi's time was strangely competitive for a first pass (he usually takes it very easy the first time through), it was tarmac.

With such a shakedown, there is no way to make a prediction for the rally, except, maybe, that Hirvonen seems to be slower than Loeb. But the set-up for gravel never allows any kind of interpretation of the data when they drive on tarmac :(

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Re: Wales Rally GB 2011

Post by Green Flag » 10 Nov 2011, 14:12

In the itinerary at wrc.com it says SS1 Great Orme 1 (4.74 km) starts at 14:38 local time. Then it says that SS2 Great Orme 2 (4.74 km) starts at 14:55, or 17 minutes later. It has to be a different stage? :huh: Or am I hallucinating again... :blush:

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Re: Wales Rally GB 2011

Post by Mar » 10 Nov 2011, 14:25

I think it's just one example of those SSS that they run twice in a row, two or three drivers at a time.

It's sunny, they say on the radio.

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Re: Wales Rally GB 2011

Post by Green Flag » 10 Nov 2011, 14:38

Mar wrote:I think it's just one example of those SSS that they run twice in a row, two or three drivers at a time.

It's sunny, they say on the radio.
OK, thanks! Makes sense now.

In the case that this should be Kimi's last rally (for now at least), it would be nice if he gets a good result.

And of course, having waited the whole day for the action to start, now I have to leave. Hopefully the first stages are uneventful :)

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Re: Wales Rally GB 2011

Post by Mar » 10 Nov 2011, 14:42

we are rallying :)

Gravel tyres on tarmac. I'm with Loeb there, I don't like it.

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Re: Wales Rally GB 2011

Post by Mar » 10 Nov 2011, 14:45

Ogier crashed?

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