Blogs
WRC Pirelli driver blog - Sebastien Loeb
Blog two: Sunday 18 April. 1900hrs.
"Hello everybody. We’ve just finished Rally Turkey and as you already know, it ended in the best possible fashion for us.
Thanks to this third win on the trot, we’ve managed to open up a gap in the title chase, all the more so as several drivers are tightly packed in the runner-up spots. A forty-point lead after four rallies gives us a good cushion - but that doesn’t mean I’m going to rest on my laurels.
What’s really positive is that there were no strategies in this rally. The best tactic was to push to be in front. I was happy with my performance on the first day, as I managed to limit the gaps despite sweeping. Saturday morning was a bit trickier. Although I never stopped pushing, I wasn’t able to pull back lost time.
As I was fifth out on the road, I had to cope with asphalt sections that had been dirtied by the passage of the first cars. Then things improved and we managed to take the lead in the afternoon.
The event’s route had good stages that were mostly pretty quick. I didn’t really like those on the second day as you had to push right in the middle of big stones and ran the risk of breaking something. Today’s stages were a bit damaged by the rain. I think it would have been much more fun in the dry. I gave myself a few scares in the muddy sections, and there were moments when I didn’t really know what was going to happen when I hit the brake pedal - but we got though!
One of the best moments of the rally was our 85-metre jump in SS20. We didn’t jump all that high but very far, much further than in Finland, in fact! It’s a great sensation as you feel that you’re almost flying. On such occasions all you see is the sky. Then you ask yourself if you’ve taken good notes and if you’re going to land on the road. Luckily, our notes were perfect.
Now we have to think of how we’re going to get home! Things don’t look quite as bad as we first thought. I should be able to take a plane for Rome or even Nice. Once there, we’ll be fairly close to our home and we’ll see what’s available to take us to Switzerland. The majority of the team members are going to have a bus trip of almost 3000-kilometres! I’ll tell you all about it later on in the week."
For more about Pirelli in the WRC visit:
www.pirellityre.com
WRC Pirelli driver blog - Sebastien Loeb
Blog one: Friday 16 April. 1945hrs.
"Hello everybody. I'm delighted to be speaking to you again this weekend for the Pirelli drivers' blog. I've already done it, but that was a long time ago - Sardinia in 2008!
The first leg of Rally Turkey isn't quite over, as we're waiting to race in a Superspecial that will close what's been a pretty long day. There have been plenty of spectators, and as usual in Turkey everyone's trying to see who can make the most noise! But I'm not going to talk about my day: I suppose you followed it by surfing on wrc.com.
I'd rather talk to you about yesterday, which was a bit special. After the shakedown, we usually go back to our hotels to give interviews, rest and look at the videos of the stages. On this rally, the organisers concocted a very different programme. We put our cars on a ferry, and we went for what turned out to be a fairly long trip on the Bosporus. We took advantage of it to give a few interviews and we were invited to go to the bridge. I had to take over control of this huge boat for a few seconds, but its reactions are not quite as quick as those of my C4 WRC. On the other hand, you're sitting much more comfortably in the Pasha's seat!
The service park is located in Pendik, a district of Istanbul on the Asian continent. After a couple of hours' sailing our ferry trip took us back to the European part of the town. The starting ceremony was held in the heart of the historic part of the city, a few metres away from the famous Blue Mosque. It was fairly crowded and the ambiance was very laid back. It's always nice to meet the fans, and I have to say that the old town provided a lovely backdrop to the WRC.
After the starting ceremony, we went back to Pendik on board a fast boat. This time the four Citroen crews were all together. It was a lot shorter than on the outward journey, and I took advantage of it to do a few acrobatic stunts to amuse everybody! To see that as if you were there have a look at the video on the Web TV site on www.citroen-wrc.com or on the Citroen World Rally Team facebook page !
Daniel has just called me and we're about to set off for the last stage. It's been a long day and I can't wait to be back with Séverine, Valentine [Seb's wife and daughter] and my family who've come to cheer me on in this rally."
Speak to you later,
Seb
For more about Pirelli in the WRC visit:
www.pirellityre.com
WRC Pirelli driver blog - Kimi Raikkonen
Blog three: Wednesday 7 April. 0900hrs.
"Looking back on it now, I think I would have been quite surprised if somebody had told me before the season that the first drivers' points I would score would come in Jordan. Of all the rallies I did so far it was the most difficult, but still I ended up with four points for finishing eighth.
Rallying seems to be one of these sports where the more you learn, the less you know. What I mean is that just when you think you have one problem solved, you realise how much further you have to go.
But actually, this is exactly how I imagined it would be. I never expected to come in and be straight into the front, just as I wouldn't expect somebody like Sebastien Loeb to come into Formula One and be straight at the front. Most drivers are naturally impatient - you want everything, now. But when you start something from the beginning, you have to control that impulse.
I'm actually enjoying the process of learning all over again; it's like my early days in Formula One. It's not that Formula One got boring for me, but you get very used to something if you do it for long enough, and rallying has given me a great change of scene at a time when I needed it.
As for the future...who knows? I'm not even thinking about it. At some point in the year, maybe halfway through it, I'll have to start thinking about what to do next, but until then there's no point in worrying about it. Let's just say that for the moment I'm very happy doing what I'm doing. Rallying has always been a dream of mine since I was a kid, and now I get the chance to live my dream. How many people can say that? Motor sport is so pressured and commercial all the time, that it's easy to forget the reason why you started to do it in the first place; because it's the most fun you can have. This year is all about that for me.
I have a bit of time off now before the Rally of Turkey, which I think should be a slightly more straightforward event for us than Jordan. From what I hear the surfaces there should be more consistent, which will help me a lot, although the temperatures are going to be the same - or maybe even hotter. Although I sweat quite a lot that's never really bothered me: I mostly don't notice it. This ice man doesn't melt..."
For more about Pirelli in the WRC visit:
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WRC Pirelli driver blog - Kimi Raikkonen
Blog two: Friday 2 April. 1800hrs.
"I don’t want to say anything that might bring me bad luck on the final day, but it’s actually gone quite well for us so far in Jordan. I wasn’t feeling any particular pressure before the rally - there’s no point - but the main thing was to get experience and now this is coming.
There’s still a long way to go as we have the final day left, and that’s sure to be another big challenge with some tough stages and hot weather. But I’m used to warm temperatures in Formula One, so that’s not a problem. Somebody actually pointed out to me earlier that it was the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend; I hadn’t even realised until it was mentioned.
The way I see it is that for now I’m a rally driver so I’m not thinking about the past or the future, even though people keep asking me. Obviously at some point I need to take a decision about what I do next, but that won’t be until the second half of the year at the earliest. Everything is possible, but I need to know how I will get on in rallying before I take any decisions. For now I have only just started and so far I am really enjoying myself.
The thing that has surprised me most about Jordan is how much the stages change from the first run in the morning to the second run in the afternoon. It’s almost like two different rallies because there is a lot more grip the second time. But also I find that I have a lot more confidence during the second run, because I have seen the roads before.
It just goes to show how important experience is in rallying. I knew it from the start: we were never going to win overnight so we are roughly where I thought we would be. Luckily we’ve not made any big mistakes here so far - just a couple of spins and an overshoot - and that means we are steadily able to build up the experience we need.
Having said that, it’s still very tricky for me. I’ve got a whole new style of driving to learn and a completely different way to set up the car, as well as finding out how to get the best out of the pace notes. There’s a lot of information to soak up in not much time. But I suppose if it were easy, everyone would do it..."
For more about Pirelli in the WRC visit:
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WRC Pirelli driver blog - Kimi Raikkonen
Blog one: Thursday 31 March. 1600hrs.
"Okay, so I never thought that a rally could be like holidays, but I have to say that so far here in Jordan it’s been pretty nice.
After the shakedown I had a bit of a chance to relax on the terrace at the hotel and look at the view over the Dead Sea. It’s such a hectic life that it’s nice to empty your head sometimes and think of nothing much. And what’s the point of going to all these different places if you don’t take the time to look at them occasionally? My life used to be a blur of airports and circuits and hotels but I’m determined to enjoy myself this year.
Jordan is a completely new experience for me, but that’s normal as more or less everything this year is new to me. Let’s just say that the whole atmosphere and way of working here is quite different to Formula One, but the challenges are even bigger for me.
I was thinking about that this morning when I drove the shakedown: I still have so few kilometres in the Citroen C4 WRC; basically a couple of hundred and that’s it. And now I’m starting a gravel rally that even the real experts say is quite tough. So I think it’s going to be an interesting few days. The main thing is to learn: you don’t suddenly find a load of time from out of nowhere in this game.
I have to say that I really like the world of rallying so far. It’s impossible to compare it to Formula One as it would be like comparing a square to a triangle, but everything seems just a bit more relaxed and friendly. Everyone has been very welcoming, but there’s still room for me to be myself.
The shakedown this morning was quite rough, but I think we could see some parts of the rally that are like this too, so it was good preparation. For me the main thing is going to be reaching the finish, as on an event that is as specialised as this one, you really need to see every stage. We had a good recce, although it was a bit warm as the air conditioning wasn’t working in the recce car. Strangely, it was actually cooler in the rally car at shakedown - as you have a huge air scoop in the roof that gives you a pretty good supply of cool air once you’re moving.
I’m still at the stage where there’s more time to come out of me than anything else. But if it all comes together - and even up to now, there have been a few moments where that has started to happen - I’d like to set a few decent times. Wish me luck..."
For more about Pirelli in the WRC visit:
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WRC Pirelli driver blog - Ken Block
Blog three: Thursday 11 March. 2000hrs.
"Shortly after parking the Focus in a ditch on Saturday morning, I was told by Monster World Rally Team's marketing director that there were a few thousand posters with my name on them, literally. And while, I am sure he saw an hour of autographing as some cruel form of punishment for going off, signing was helping me keep my mind off of racing for a few minutes, oddly the first relaxing hour of the weekend. Plus I really enjoyed the massive crowd that had formed by our service area. It's still crazy to me that people will line up just for my signature, and because of that, how could I deny them and really, what else did I have to do?
Since stage 20 was cancelled, there was just over 50 kilometers of road on Sunday for Alex and I to do what we could do on. There really was little chance of catching up, so instead we just looked at each stage as its own race. First stage out, SS19, went very well. The Focus felt dialed, as did Alex and I, and by stage end, we were eighth fastest on stage in front of Matthew Wilson and Federico Villagra. Then on stage 21, after the first split, we were second fastest on the road! But an unfortunate meeting of a rim and a rock caused a puncture about 10k from the end of the stage, before the huge jump and a series of back-to-back hairpins that just slowed us to a crawl with a front left flat. We lost a bit of time, which was lame, since the splits suggested that we could have been quite fast on that stage.
After the super special, where I went head to head with Wilson, and lost by just a tenth of second to him, we finished 18th overall because of the numerous stages we missed on Saturday. And while our final standing wasn't exactly something to boast about, finishing our first rally, with some good stage times was all Alex and I ever wanted, and boy did we get it.
I know in the press, people are saying that we have surprised and impressed many. Funny thing is we've even surprised ourselves. As we sat at La Parrilla across from the hotel drinking a few well-earned beers and noshing on some tortilla chips, it all seemed so surreal as MWRT team manager Derek Dauncey began talking about strategy for Turkey... As I have said countless times before, racing in the WRC has been a dream of mine, and now, I am living it. To that, see you all in Istanbul."
For more about Pirelli in the WRC visit:
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WRC Pirelli driver blog - Ken Block
Blog two: Saturday 6 March. 2100hrs.
"Friday started like every other day this week, early! But to add to my workout I had a few hundred anxious pounds resting on my shoulders. While I made sure to set my personal expectations realistically low on how I would fair against the best drivers in rally this weekend, I knew quite well that the world was watching. Some expecting more, some predicting less. Either way the pressure was on.
The plan for Alex and I was to go clean and steady, I've had bad luck before here in Mexico on the first stage. But this time the car felt good, consistent and quick. Although I really had no clue how our speed would compare, so when we received our times and checked them to the other drivers, I at first thought there was a mistake. Let's just say I was a bit shocked to find out that we were ninth fastest on road, and ahead of Kimi, too. And considering, I am a big fan of Kimi's F1 career, that was pretty awesome.
The next stage went even better, landing Alex and I eighth fastest on stage. By the time we got into midday service we were ninth overall, and the rest of the Monster World Rally Team was grinning ear-to-ear. I'll say it, we were all 'stoked.' But once the crew removed the sump guard, an oil leak was discovered and the rush was on to sort it out before we had to head back out. They did and we were off, both trying to deflate our heads after all the back patting in service. We both knew there was still a lot of road left to go.
Stage five, was a particularly good one for us, I was starting to really get into the flow of the Focus. Then on stage six, as I was tearing down a straight, a massive rock seemed to magically appear right smack in the middle of the road. We hit so hard, it felt as if the car lifted off the road. The impact left the car seemingly dead. I tried and tried to get the Focus to restart, but to no avail. Then just as Alex had popped his buckles to inspect, I cycled the master switch and the Focus was purring again. Guess we hit so hard it flipped the switch. But by this point a minute was lost.
We did well making up some time on the next stage, finishing only 7 tenths behind Matthew Wilson, but then during the Super Special at the Autodromo we punctured a tire by kissing a bank going wide. Still we returned to end of day service in 10th overall with only 13 seconds between us and 9th.
Day two started strong, our splits looked great and by the 22k mark of stage one we were only 7 seconds off Latvala's split, but then after coming through a tight downhill section, which had good grip on each corner, we went over a steep crest into a right-two-minus (tight right hander) that had simply no traction whatsoever. I gave it my all to keep the Focus out of a ditch. Seems my all wasn't enough when the car was skating across marbles. The impact snapped a control arm and we were out for the day. But thanks to the Super Rally rule, something we don't have in the United States, we are back on stage Sunday morning!
For more about Pirelli in the WRC visit:
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