Prokop leads the C2 Junior Experience

Aaron Burkart and Shaun Gallagher, in the two other C2 Super 1600s, end the day sixth and seventh in the Junior classification respectively. On just his second event in the Citroën C2-R2 MAX, Hans Weijs ends the opening day of Rally Finland in 11th place amongst the Juniors. Francesco Fanari, in another C2-R2 MAX, experienced mechanical problems on the superspecial yesterday and did not take the start this morning. He will re-join on Saturday under the SupeRally regulations.

Finally, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia – who are competing outside of the Junior Championship on this event – have repaid the faith shown in them by Citroën Sport, BFGoodrich and Total by putting in an excellent performance with their C2 R2 Max amongst the Super 1600s and the C3 category cars.

Aaron Burkart (D) – Michael Köelbach (D) (Citroën C2 Super 1600) Born 20/09/82 – Single – Lives Berlin (Germany) « The roads are very quick so it’s hard for us to get to grips with them. But the car was handling extremely well, despite all the big jumps. Small cars tend to land quite heavily nosedown after long crests, but my C2 Super 1600 was very stable. During the second run through the stages that we drove this morning, I was able to find a better feeling and improve my times. Tomorrow, I hope things will be a little easier for me. My aim is to setquick times straight out of the box. »

Shaun Gallagher (EI) – Paul Kiely (EI) (Citroën C2 Super 1600) Born 07/06/80 – Single – Lives County Donegal (Ireland) « This is a very tricky rally. I drove carefully right from the start; maybe a little too carefully! Nonetheless, it’s not the C2 Super 1600 that’s holding me back from going quickly, as it seems very well-suited to these roads. Instead, it’s more down to me not quite having the confidence to go fast. Still, over the course of the day I managed to build up a better feeling with the route, and I can certainly vouch for this rally’s reputation of being the quickest of them all! »

Sébastien Ogier (F) – Julien Ingrassia (F) (Citroën C2-R2 MAX) (Not competing in the JWRC on this event) Born 17/12/83 – Single – Lives Forest St Julien (France) « I set off for the superspecial yesterday feeling slightly nervous. I’m not running as part of the Junior Championship on this event, but I knew that people still expected me to do well. So I have to try and put in some good performances. I’m pleased with how we’ve got on today in our C2-R2 MAX. The stages are absolutely stunning, the jumps even more so, and it’s a real pleasure to drive here. The second passage through the stages was quite tricky. The roads were badly broken up, so all the reference points we had noted had changed as well. Also the new tyres that BF Goodrich have developed have shown a great level of performance. »

Martin Prokop (CZ) – Jan Tománek (CZ) (Citroën C2 Super 1600) Born 04/10/82 – Single – Lives Jihlava (Czech Republic) « We got off to a very good start in the morning. It was great during the first loop of stages, as we were leading the Juniors. The second loop didn’t go quite as well for us. Our set-up did not really suit the roads once all the cars had been through, which is why we lost quite a lot of time there. So Kosciuszko took over the lead at the end of the day, although I hope to get it back again tomorrow! »

Hans Weijs (NL) – Hans Van Goor (NL) (Citroën C2-R2 MAX) Born 19/12/86 – Single – Lives Elst (The Netherlands) « We made a steady start this morning, as I’m not really used to this type of rally. My experience on gravel is not massive either, so I didn’t really feel too comfortable on the stages to start with. I enjoyed myself more in the afternoon, but then I landed heavily after a jump, which damaged the sump guard and the radiator. I got through the rest of the afternoon more by luck than judgement, so I’m very pleased to be safely back at service tonight. »

Junior classification, Rally Finland, at end of day 1 :

1. M.Kosciuszko/M.Szczepaniak (Suzuki Swift S1600) 1h 14min 01,5s

2. M.Prokop/J.Tomanek (Citroën C2 Super 1600) + 4,9s

3. P.Sandell/E.Axelsson (Renault Clio Super 1600) + 8,7s

4. J.Mölder/F.Miclotte (Suzuki Swift S1600) + 35,4s

5. A.Bettega/S.Scattolin (Renault Clio R3) + 2 min 12,1s

6. A.Burkart/M.Koelbach (Citroën C2 Super 1600) + 3 min 07,3s

7. S.Gallagher/M.Morrissey (Citroën C2 Super 1600) + 3 min 28,7s

8. G.Schammel/R.Jamoul (Renault Clio R3) + 4 min 16,0s

9. K.Abbring/E.Mombaerts (Renault Clio R3) + 4 min 32,0s

10. S.Bertolotti/D.Vernuccio (Renault Clio R3) + 5 min 49,1s

11. H.Weijs/H.van Goor (Citroën C2-R2 MAX) + 9 min 00,4s

.../...

16. F.Fanari/M.Bosi (Citroën C2-R2 MAX) + 48 min 55,6s

Tomorrow, Saturday 2 August :

Day 2 : 657.87km, including 168.25km divided into 10 stages (8 different). Starts from parc ferme. Service E (06.00, 15 minutes). SS12 (Himos, 15.35km), SS13 (Hirvimäki, 10.67km) and SS14 (Surkee 1, 14.80km). Regroup (09.20, 13 minutes). Service F (09.33, 30 minutes). SS15 (Leustu, 21.43km), SS16 (Kakaristo 1, 20.09km), SS17 (Kaipolanvuori, 13.64km) and SS18 (Surkee 2). Regroup (14.17, 13 minutes). Service G (14.30, 30 minutes). SS19 (Kakaristo 2), SS20 (Juupajoki, 21.13km and SS21 (Väärinmaja, 16.25km). Service H (19.55, 45 minutes). Last car due into parc ferme at 23.00.