The Citroën Junior Team heads Down Under
After a month-long summer break, the Citroën Junior Team returns to action on Rally Australia, round 10 of the 12-round 2009 FIA World Rally Championship. Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia and Conrad Rautenbach / Daniel Barritt will drive the two Citroën C4 WRC entries on this brandnew event based at Kingscliff in New South Wales.

After 19 years in Perth, to the west of the country, Rally Australia now moves to New South Wales for the 2009 event. This 3600-kilometre move gives an opportunity to all the World Rally Championship crews to branch out into new and unknown territory.

Located in the north east of New South Wales, the town of Kingscliff is in a national park only a 100 kilometres or so away from Brisbane. The acclaimed Gondwana forest, which forms part of the route on the final day, has been a Unesco world heritage site since 1986 and is subject to more than 1100 millimetres of rainfall per month. The organising committee has worked hard with local authorities to reduce the environmental impact of the rally and to highlight the extraordinary ecosystem that characterises the area.

Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia and Conrad Rautenbach / Daniel Barritt have been nominated to score manufacturer points for the Citroën Junior Team in their C4 WRCs.

Sébastien Ogier is currently eighth in his first season at the top level of the FIA World Rally Championship, thanks to a series of remarkable performances that have amply underlined his potential.

After finishing second in Greece and just missing out on a podium in Poland, the Frenchman also set a fastest time on the legendary stages of Rally Finland. He said: « Myself, Julien and the rest of the team are now reaping the rewards of all the hard work we have put in since the start of the season. I’m feeling more and more comfortable with the C4 WRC and I can’t wait to get back into it for my first Rally Australia. » As this event is brand new for all the crews, Sébastien Ogier will start the rally on a level playing field with everybody else. « For once we do not begin with a lack of experience compared to the other drivers » he added. « It’s just an event like any other for us. And the main objective is also the same as we have on all the other rallies: we need to be there at the finish. »

Just like the other drivers, Zimbabwe’s Conrad Rautenbach is expecting some radically different new territory. « We really don’t know what will be waiting for us as we head off to the recce » he said. « We’ve never rallied in this part of Australia before and it seems that the conditions will be very different from how they were in Perth. On the east coast, the stages are likely to be wider and quicker, a bit like they are in New Zealand or Finland. It’s the sort of thing that I think I will like. There are several stages and the long final day could be tricky. I can’t wait to get there now because Australia is a place I absolutely love! »

Back To News
Images
Ypres 2008 Finland 2008 Finland 2008 Finland 2008