“It doesn’t necessarily make it tougher on drivers and it’s not because it’s physically hard, but because normally if you are fast on one rally, you are fast on the next. You build the confidence. And if you are slow on one rally, you are slow on the next. There’s no time for teams to really work on the cars between the two either.”
In contrast to Corsica’s quiet demeanour, the rally route is anything but laid back. The Rally of a Thousand Corners is a fitting moniker for this test that certainly keeps the drivers busy. The roads are flowing, meaning that they are also very fast, but are characterised by the constant dance of hard acceleration and heavy braking, cars teetering on the edge of adhesion.
“The roads are much more bumpy and narrow, so it does demand different things from you in the car” said Chris Atkinson. “The cars all react a lot more to the bumps than they did in Spain, so there is a lot more work to do in predicting and feeling where and when they are going to bounce and move.
“I think you can definitely carry confidence from Spain into Corsica. While it’s generally the case, you can’t just assume that a good feeling in Spain will lead to the same in France though. It’s the second part of a very important series of rallies that could set you up well for the last part of the season so you can’t take anything for granted.”
Rallye de France Tour de Corse is an important event for Brice Tirabassi and Fabrice Gordon aboard the third Impreza WRC2008. Not only is it his home event, but Tirabassi made his WRC debut on the island in 1999 and, before Spain last weekend, it was the scene of his most recent WRC outing last year. What’s more, Tirabassi’s long-time co-driver Fabrice Gordon is Corsican-born and lives on the island.
“Corsica is my home event and I am very excited to be doing the rally in a works Impreza” enthused Brice Tirabassi. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for me, and after the experience of Spain I want to push myself and the car a little bit harder. I’ve had more experience of WRC cars in Corsica than in Spain, so I hope this will help my performance. It’s also nice because Fabrice lives in Corsica, so I think we’ll have lots of support.”
After a ceremonial start at the Place Austerlitz in the centre of Ajaccio on Thursday evening, competitors embark upon sixteen stages totalling 359.02 kilometres.
Entries
The Subaru World Rally Team has entered three Impreza WRC2008s for Rallye de France Tour de Corse. As usual, Petter Solberg and Phil Mills will drive number five, and team-mates Chris Atkinson and Stéphane Prévot number six. The third Impreza WRC2008 number 14 will be piloted by Frenchmen Brice Tirabassi and his co-driver Fabrice Gordon.
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