Manfred Stohl: “We mustn’t lose our calm over this. We’re here to score points”
Oct 20, 2007
mcklein.de
Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor hope for first top result in Japan Many short special stages will make it hard to find the rhythm OMV Move & Help sponsor-pot already filled with almost 120.000 Euro
The OMV Kronos Citroen World Rally Team will start another attempt for a top result at the “Rally Japan”. The signs are good since, including the Austrian OMV driver, only 13 WRC teams will compete in the land of the rising sun. Furthermore, most of these have little Japan-experience. Stohl, on the other hand, had already finished fifth at his Japan premiere last year. Which gives hope to the 35-year-old overall fourth of 2006.
Swiftly getting into it
Tactics are a thing of the past for Manfred Stohl. Results are all that count for the OMV driver. Most of all a result that scores points. And the Austrian plans to get back on the road to success in Japan. The secret will probably lie in finding the rhythm as fast as possible. 27 special stages mean that Japan disposes of the most SSs in the FIA World Rally Championship.
Stohl: “There are a lot of very short special stages among them. The moment you’re into it the SS has already finished. Those who can adjust best to this will be up top in the end. In a way it is like completing many super stages. But we mustn’t lose our calm over this. We’re here to score points. In my first Citroen-season 2005 I had accumulated 22 points at year’s end. This year it’s only nine so far which means that 13 are still missing. And I have three rallies left to score them. ”
Already EUR 118.790 in the OMV Move & Help account
Since this year’s season of the OMV Kronos Citroen World Rally Team is under the sign of OMV Move & Help, EUR 20 will be donated to OMV Move & Help for each completed special stage kilometre. At the 13 WRC-runs completed so far, Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor, Daniel Carlsson/Denis Giraudet and recently in Germany, Spain and Corsica also Francois Duval/Patrick Pivato have already taken in 118.790 Euro overall. In Japan further 7.000 Euro are at stake since Manfred Stohl will carry the colours of the OMV Kronos Citroen World Rally Team alone. Move & Help is the educational program by OMV for over 35.000 children and youths in cooperation with SOS Children’s Village, Caritas and UNICEF.
350 special stage kilometres on 27 special stages
The Rally Japan will commence on Friday (October 26) in Obihiro/Hokkaido at 06.00 (local time). 27 special stages with an overall length of 350,19 kilometres are scheduled from Friday to Sunday (October 26 – 28). The overall length measures exactly 1.575,79 kilometres. The finish line will be crossed on Sunday (October 28) at 15.00 (local time) in Obihiro.
This is Japan
Area: 377.835 sq km; Population: 128.389.000 inhabitants; Population density: 340 people per sq km; Capital: Tokyo (8.372.440 inhabitants); Japan is 160 km removed from the Asiatic mainland and consists of four main islands (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu). Japan has been an empire since at least 660 B. C. and has been a parliamentary monarchy since 1947. There are 200 volcanoes in Japan, 36 of which have been still active during the last 100 years.
