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Cyprus Rally entry list published
World Rally Champion Loeb Aims for Win No. 50 in Cyprus
Solberg lines up faster Xsara for Cyprus
Click here for Full Entry List Cyprus Rally entry list published
The organisers of the Cyprus Rally have published a 35-strong entry list for the event which starts from Limassol on 12 March.
Championship leader after two rounds Sebastien Loeb heads a 12-strong entry of World Rally Cars. As usual the Frenchman will be partnered at the Citroen Total team by Spaniard Dani Sordo. The BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team will be represented by Finns Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala and Emirati driver Khalid Al Qassimi.
Three Manufacturer Teams have registered for the rally. Matthew Wilson and Henning Solberg will line up for the Stobart VK M-Sport squad, while Evgeny Novikov and Conrad Rautenbach are the nominated points scorers for the Citroen Junior team. Sebastien Ogier will drive a third C4 WRC for the French squad. The last competitor registered for the Manufacturers’ competition is seven times Argentinean Rally Champion Federico Villagra who will make his 2009 WRC debut for the Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team.
Petter Solberg is also confirmed as the driver of his own ‘MSN edition’ rally team. Solberg will drive a Citroen Xsara WRC.
The Cyprus Rally is the first of four consecutive rallies this season to be eligible for both the P-WRC and J-WRC categories. Fifteen crews are registered for the Production competotion, including the man who leads the series, Patrik Sandell.
Only three of the crews tackling the J-WRC have chosen to compete in Cyprus. Series leader Aaron Burkart and second placed man Martin Prokop will be joined by Michal Kosciuszko.
The Cyprus Rally is the only rally in this year’s calendar to feature a mixture of stage surfaces; asphalt on the first day and gravel on the two which follow. Click here for the Event Newsletter World Rally Champion Loeb Aims for Win No. 50 in Cyprus
Rally fans are keen to see if defending World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb can score his 50th win at the FxPro Cyprus Rally 2009. After steering his Citroen C4 to back-to-back wins in the first two rounds of the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship in Ireland and Norway, the odds appear to be in Loeb’s favour. And the fact that he took victory in the last three Cyprus WRC events just reinforces the likelihood that Loeb – already the most successful WRC driver of all time – will make it a half-century in Cyprus. The decision to make the FxPro Cyprus Rally 2009 a mixed surface
event adds new spice to the Cyprus challenge, but it is unlikely to cause any significant problems to a driver who has proven his mettle on all surfaces. As ever, Loeb will tackle the event with the WRC’s most successful co-driver Daniel Elena at his side. Born in Alsace on the Franco-German border on February 26th 1974, Loeb was a talented gymnast from an early age. At the age of 21, he decided to enter the world of rallying and soon made a name for himself in the Juniors, before moving on to the WRC where he has enjoyed unparalleled success – winning the last five consecutive World Rally Championships!
But while the odds favour Loeb making Cyprus his 50th win, his competition won’t make it easy. Also tackling the challenging special stages of the Troodos mountains will be his talented teammate Dani Sordo – also piloting a Citroen C4, while Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen, who currently sits 2nd on the Championship leaderboard, will be looking to close the points gap. Hirvonen enters the Cyprus event 6 points behind Loeb. Other drivers lining up to try to break Loeb’s run of victories include Hirvonen’s Ford teammate Jari-Matti Latvala, Stobart’s Matthew Wilson and Henning Solberg, and crowd favourite Petter Solberg. Plus, there’s added excitement as the FxPro Cyprus Rally counts towards both the J-WRC and P-WRC championships this year. Solberg lines up faster Xsara for Cyprus
Petter Solberg is hoping the combination of a new engine, new dampers and some proper preparation time will enable him to put his Citroen Xsara on the podium on the forthcoming Cyprus Rally.
Despite minimal preparation time before his Rally Norway debut as a privateer, Solberg took his 2001-built Xsara to a stage win and sixth place overall. And he’s aiming for better on the mixed surface round in Cyprus which starts on 12 March.
Speaking exclusively to wrc.com, Solberg admitted his car’s existing engine had seen better days, and had suffered from a persistent misfire as well as a thirst for one litre of engine oil each day.
But with the time-consuming business of setting up his rally team now over, the Norwegian said his next focus was improving the speed of his car.
“Citroen are giving me a brand new engine - they have been very positive,” said Solberg. “Also we have some new dampers from Reiger and, most importantly, the chance to prepare the car properly. We have a day and a half of testing before the rally. I didn’t care so much about the detail in Norway - it was lucky we got it together at all - but for Cyprus things will be different.
“I don’t think I will be happy with sixth place. I want to run without any problems and then fight a little bit higher. I’m not talking about winning here, but maybe third or fourth,” he added.
Solberg also denied that he was planning on swapping his Xsara for a C4 WRC. Event Website |
