rally de Espana - Shakedown

Citroen Total team leader Sebastien Loeb got his quest for a fifth consecutive Rally de Espana victory off to a good start today by going fastest at this morning’s pre-event Shakedown.

The four-hour test took place on the opening 4.32kms of the Riudecanyes stage, which will be run twice on Sunday as SS13 and SS16. Weather conditions were dry and bright throughout the session, with a peak temperature of 26 degrees Celsius.

Loeb made four passes through the stage in his C4 WRC, setting his quickest time of 2min 36.4sec on his final attempt. Returning to the service area the Frenchman declared himself satisfied with the set-up of his car, but said the test had been only of limited use as preparation for the main event.

"Like most drivers we wanted to save our hard compound tyres for the rally, so we used our soft compound ones for Shakedown - even though they weren’t the ideal choice," explained Loeb. "It was hard to gauge a feeling in the car, but we weren’t trying to find a different set-up. If the weather stays good I’m not sure we’ll use the soft tyres, so what we are doing today is not so important. We did a few runs and checked the differential settings a bit but mainly it was about getting the confidence that everything on the car works okay."

Citroen Junior Team driver Sebastien Ogier was Loeb’s closest rival, in a time exactly one second slower, while Loeb’s team-mate Dani Sordo was third fastest.

Championship leader Mikko Hirvonen set the fifth fastest time: "Everything went fine, the car us working well and I’m still happy with the set-up we found at the test. We are ready for the rally," he said.

The opening stage of the rally, the 20.48km La Mussara, gets underway on Friday morning at 0846hrs. Stage and split times will be streamed LIVE and FREE here on wrc.com.

Here are today’s top ten Shakedown times:

1. LOEB. Citroen C4 WRC. 2:36.4

2. OGIER. Citroen C4 WRC. 2:37.4

3. SORDO. Citroen C4 WRC. 2:37.9

4. P. SOLBERG. Citroen C4 WRC. 2:38.0

5. HIRVONEN. Ford Focus RS WRC 09. 2:38.9

6. LATVALA. Ford Focus RS WRC 09. 2:39.2

7. NOVIKOV. Citroen C4 WRC. 2:39.6

8. VILLAGRA. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 2:39.7

9. WILSON. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 2:39.8

10. H.SOLBERG. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 2:41.3