Sordo and Raikkonen team up again for Rally Japan

Sordo and Raikkonen team up again for Rally Japan

After making their team debut together on Rally Finland, Dani Sordo and Kimi Raikkonen will be Citroen Junior team-mates again this week in Japan, round 10 of the 2010 FIA World Rally Championship.

With Sebastien Ogier promoted to the main factory team for the remaining gravel rounds in Japan and GB, Sordo is back in the number two squad alongside WRC new boy Raikkonen. But with the same C4 WRC machinery at his control, Sordo is determined to get stuck into the battle with the frontrunners.

“I’m going to be giving my all to show that I can drive just as quickly on gravel as I can on asphalt,” said the Spaniard, who finished second on the most recent round in Germany alongside new co-driver Diego Vallejo.

Sordo has taken part in Rally Japan on three previous occasions, with a best result of second overall in 2007. He missed out on victory by 37.4 seconds on that occasion, having been the best performer of the rally after setting the same number of fastest stage times as Sebastien Loeb.

“I’ve got some great memories of Japan,” added Dani. “It’s a long way away but a very beautiful country. The route is really complex though. As a driver you have to be very precise in order to place the car accurately on very narrow roads and the co-driver has a lot of pace notes to get through, which need to be read out with perfect timing. If all those things don’t come together you end up either losing a stack of time or going off the road. From start to finish, you need to be really exact.”

Räikkönen has been used to making the trip to Japan throughout his Formula One career, winning the Japanese Grand Prix in 2005, but the gravel stages on the island of Hokkaido are going to be all new to him.

Kimi finished in the points on his last outing, the all-asphalt Rallye Deutschland, and also set the first fastest stage time of his short WRC career to date. He said: “We’ve not been testing since we finished the Rallye Deutschland. When we get to Japan, I’m going to have to get straight back into the rhythm again. I’m expecting it to be a very tricky event for us. From what I’ve heard, the Rally Japan is particularly complex. And it’s sure to be even more complicated for a beginner like me.”

The Finn has been in the points on four occasions from the eight starts he has taken this year, but his objectives remain unchanged. “My targets are exactly the same,” he confirmed. “From the first few stages in Japan we will be able to see the pace we can run at. But once more the main thing will be to be there at the end of the rally.”

Fonte: wrc.com

E Sordo será novamente companheiro de Kimi na Citroën Junior Team!

Beijinhos, Ice-Ludy